crayfish

crayfish
noun Etymology: by folk etymology from Middle English crevis, from Anglo-French creveis, escreveice, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German krebiz crab — more at crab Date: 14th century 1. any of numerous freshwater decapod crustaceans (especially families Astacidea, Cambaridae, and Parastacidae) resembling the lobster but usually much smaller 2. spiny lobster

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • crayfish — [krā′fish΄] n. pl. crayfish or crayfishes (see FISH) [altered, by assoc. with FISH < ME crevise < OFr crevice < OHG krebiz: see CRAB ] ☆ 1. any of various families of small, usually freshwater decapods somewhat resembling little lobsters …   English World dictionary

  • Crayfish — Allgemeine Informationen Genre(s) Rock Gründung 2001 Website http://www.crayfish.de/ …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • crayfish — early 14c., crevis, from O.Fr. crevice crayfish (13c., Mod.Fr. écrevisse), probably from Frankish *krebitja or a similar Germanic word that is a dim. form of the root of CRAB (Cf. crab) (1); e.g. O.H.G. krebiz crab, shellfish, Ger. Krebs. Modern… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Crayfish — Cray fish (kr[=a] f[i^]sh), n. (Zo[ o]l.) See {Crawfish}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • crayfish — a 16c alteration of an earlier word crevis (or crevisse), is the usual word in Britain for a small lobster like freshwater crustacean. Americans call them crawfish, and Australians and New Zealanders tend to abbreviate the word to cray (as in… …   Modern English usage

  • crayfish — ► NOUN (pl. same) ▪ a freshwater or marine crustacean resembling a small lobster. ORIGIN Old French crevice, related to German Krebs crab …   English terms dictionary

  • Crayfish — For the marine crustaceans commonly known as crayfish, see spiny lobster. Crayfish Temporal range: Mesozoic–Recent …   Wikipedia

  • crayfish — /kray fish /, n., pl. (esp. collectively) crayfish, (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) crayfishes. 1. Also called crawdad, crawdaddy. any freshwater decapod crustacean of the genera Astacus and Cambarus, closely related to but… …   Universalium

  • crayfish — /ˈkreɪfɪʃ / (say krayfish) noun 1. (plural crayfish or crayfishes)→ lobster (def. 2). 2. (plural crayfish or crayfishes) Especially SA, NSW and Tasmania → rock lobster …  

  • crayfish — cray·fish (krā’fĭsh′) also craw·fish (krô’ ) n. pl. crayfish or cray·fish·es also crawfish or craw·fish·es 1) Any of various freshwater crustaceans of the families Astacidae and Cambaridae of the Northern Hemisphere and the family Parastacidae of …   Word Histories

  • crayfish — [[t]kre͟ɪfɪʃ[/t]] N COUNT (crayfish is both the singular and the plural form.) A crayfish is a small shellfish with five pairs of legs which lives in rivers and streams. You can eat some types of crayfish. Syn: crawfish …   English dictionary

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