crayfish
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Alteration (by folk etymology, influenced by fish) of Middle English crevis, from Old French crevice ("crayfish"; > Modern French: écrevisse), from Old Frankish *krebitja (“crayfish”), diminutive of Old Frankish *krebit (“crab”), from Proto-Germanic *krabitaz (“crab, cancer”), from Proto-Indo-European *grebʰ-, *gerebʰ- (“to scratch, crawl”). Akin to Old High German krebiz ("edible crustacean, crab"; > Modern German Krebs (“crab”)), Middle Low German krēvet (“crab”), Dutch kreeft (“crayfish, lobster”), Old English crabba (“crab”). More at crab.
Pronunciation
Noun
crayfish (plural crayfishes or crayfish)
- Any of numerous freshwater decapod crustaceans in superfamilies Lua error in Module:parameters at line 797: Parameter "noshow" is not used by this template. and Lua error in Module:parameters at line 797: Parameter "noshow" is not used by this template., resembling the related lobster but usually much smaller.
- (New England, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota) A freshwater crustacean (family Lua error in Module:parameters at line 797: Parameter "noshow" is not used by this template.), sometimes used as an inexpensive seafood or as fish bait.
- (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) A rock lobster (family Palinuridae).
Usage notes
The term crayfish predominates in the region of New England and in New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In much of the United States—in the South, especially in Louisiana and Texas; in the Midwest and in the West—crawfish predominates. In a belt stretching across Kentucky through Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma, and in Oregon and northern California, the term crawdad predominates.[1]
Synonyms
Derived terms
- crayfish plague (Lua error in Module:parameters at line 797: Parameter "noshow" is not used by this template.)
Translations
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Verb
crayfish (third-person singular simple present crayfishes, present participle crayfishing, simple past and past participle crayfished)
- to catch crayfish
- Alternative form of crawfish (to backpedal, desert, or withdraw)
Translations
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See also
References
- ^ “Archived copy”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)[1], 2013 July 29 (last accessed), archived from the original on 6 June 2013
Further reading
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Frankish
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English indeclinable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- New England English
- Michigan English
- Wisconsin English
- Australian English
- New Zealand English
- South African English
- English verbs
- en:Astacideans
- en:Crustaceans
- en:Seafood