Where does “crabbit” come from?
crabbit (Scots) comes from English crabbed, from Middle English crabbed, from Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba, from Proto-West Germanic krabbō, from Proto-Germanic krabbô, from Proto-Germanic krabbōną, from Proto-Indo-European gerbʰ- — to turn, bend, twist, wind; to tie, bind...
crabbit (Scots): ill-tempered, grouchy
Definitions
- ill-tempered, grouchy
Ancestry of “crabbit”, step by step
crabbit traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English crabbed
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | crabbed | Bad-tempered or cantankerous; Cramped, bent;... |
| 2 | Middle English | crabbed | immoral, backwards, savage, rapacious; crabbed,... |
| 3 | Middle English | crabbe | crab; A crayfish, lobster or similar crustacean;... |
| 4 | Old English | crabba | crab; crayfish |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | krabbō | crab |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | krabbô | crab |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | krabbōną | to scratch, scrape |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | gerbʰ- | to carve |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ger- | to turn, bend, twist, wind; to tie, bind... |
via Scots crab
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scots | crab | — |