crawfish
/ˈkɹɔˌfɪʃ/ noun, verb
Also a form of crayfish
Forms crawfishes crawfishing crawfished
- noun (United States, especially Southern US, Louisiana and Texas, Midwest, Western US) Any of various freshwater crustaceans: crayfish.
- noun (South Africa) Any of various marine crustaceans, rock lobster; especially Jasus lalandii, the Cape crawfish.
- noun (Quebec, Canada, slang, derogatory) An English-Canadian. Used in some corners of Quebec (including the Gaspé).
- verb (intransitive) To fish for crawfish.
- verb (intransitive, colloquial, Southern US) To backpedal, desert or withdraw (also used with out).
Synonyms
crawdad crawldad crawlfish crayfish mudbug yabby ecrevisse crawdaddy spiny lobster langouste rock lobster sea crawfish retreat pull back back out back away crawfish out pull in one's horns withdraw
Etymology
1620s, folk etymology (compare crawl) from Middle English crevis, from Old French crevice (“crab”) (French écrevisse), influenced by fish. Compare crayfish.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Any crustacean of the family Astacidæ, resembling the lobster, but smaller, and found in fresh waters. Crawfishes are esteemed very delicate food both in Europe and America. The North American species are numerous and mostly belong to the genus Cambarus. The blind crawfish of the Mamoth Cave is Cambarus pellucidus. The common European species is Astacus fluviatilis.
Etymology [Corrupted fr. OE. crevis, creves, OF. crevice, F. , fr. OHG. krebiz crab, G. krebs. See Crab. The ending -fish arose from confusion with E. fish.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “crawfish”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details