Where does “hermit crab” come from?
hermit crab (English) comes from English hermit, from Middle English hermite, from Old French eremite, from Latin erēmīta, from Ancient Greek ἐρημίτης, from Ancient Greek ἐρημία, from Ancient Greek -ίτης, from Ancient Greek πολῑ́της — Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems.
hermit crab (English): A decapod crustacean from the superfamily...
Definitions
- A decapod crustacean from the superfamily...
Ancestry of “hermit crab”, step by step
hermit crab traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English hermit
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | hermit | A religious recluse; someone who lives alone for... |
| 2 | Middle English | hermite | — |
| 3 | Old French | eremite | hermit |
| 4 | Latin | erēmīta | hermit, eremite |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | ἐρημίτης | person of the desert |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ἐρημία | desert, desolate/uninhabited area,wilderness;... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -ίτης | Suffix forming a masculine noun: one connected... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | πολῑ́της | citizen |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | -της | Forms nouns representing a state of being; Added... |
| 10 | Proto-Hellenic | -tāts | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -teh₂ts | Used to form nouns representing state of being |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | -teh₂ | Used to form nouns representing state of being |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | -tós | Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems |
via English crab
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | crab | A crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having... |
| 2 | English | carabiner | A metal link with a gate that can open and close,... |
| 3 | German | Karabinerhaken | carabiner, snap hook, snap-link |
| 4 | German | Karabiner | carbine; Karabinerhaken: carabiner |
| 5 | French | carabine | rifle; mistress of a cavalry soldier |
| 6 | French | carabin | carabineer; medical student |
| 7 | French | escarrabin | grave digger |
| 8 | Middle French | scarabée | beetle |
| 9 | Latin | scarabaeus | A scarab, black dung beetle, revered in Ancient... |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | κάραβος | a kind of beetle, probably a longhorn beetle; a... |