Where does “crabwalk” come from?

crabwalk (English) comes from English crab, from English carabiner, from German Karabinerhaken, from German Karabiner, from French carabine, from French carabin, from French escarrabin, from Middle French scarabée — a kind of beetle, probably a longhorn beetle; a...

crabwalk (English): A form of exercise involving "walking" on one's...

Definitions

  1. A form of exercise involving "walking" on one's...

Ancestry of “crabwalk”, step by step

crabwalk traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English crab

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishcrabA crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having...
2EnglishcarabinerA metal link with a gate that can open and close,...
3GermanKarabinerhakencarabiner, snap hook, snap-link
4GermanKarabinercarbine; Karabinerhaken: carabiner
5Frenchcarabinerifle; mistress of a cavalry soldier
6Frenchcarabincarabineer; medical student
7Frenchescarrabingrave digger
8Middle Frenchscarabéebeetle
9LatinscarabaeusA scarab, black dung beetle, revered in Ancient...
10Ancient Greekκάραβοςa kind of beetle, probably a longhorn beetle; a...

via English walk

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwalkTo move on the feet by alternately setting each...
2Middle Englishwalkto watch
3Old Englishwealcianto roll up, curl, twist; to wrinkle
4Frankishwalkōnto roll; to full
5Proto-GermanicwalkōnąTo roll about; wallow; To full
6Indo-European*wel-
Every word from Ancient Greek κάραβος