crayfish
pronunciation
How to pronounce crayfish in British English:
UK [ˈkreɪfɪʃ]
How to pronounce crayfish in American English:
US [ˈkreˌfɪʃ]
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- Noun:
- warm-water lobsters without claws; those from Australia and South Africa usually marketed as frozen tails; caught also in Florida and California
- tiny lobster-like crustaceans usually boiled briefly
- small freshwater decapod crustacean that resembles a lobster
- large edible marine crustacean having a spiny carapace but lacking the large pincers of true lobsters
Word Origin
- crayfish
- crayfish: [14] The crayfish is related etymologically as well as biologically to the crab. The Old High German word for ‘crab’ was krebiz (source of modern German krebs). This was borrowed into Old French as crevice (modern French has preserved the variant form écrevisse), and transmitted to Middle English as crevis. Association of the final syllable with fish led by the 16th century to its transformation to crayfish (a variant Middle English form cravis became crawfish).=> crab, crawfish
- crayfish (n.)
- "small, freshwater lobster," early 14c., crevis, from Old French crevice "crayfish" (13c., Modern French écrevisse), probably from Frankish *krebitja or a similar Germanic word that is a diminutive form of the root of crab (n.1); compare Old High German krebiz "crab, shellfish," German Krebs. Modern spelling is 16c., under influence of fish (n.).
Example
- 1. Earthworms , crayfish and tadpoles are examples .
- 2. A crayfish that loses a leg simply grows a new one .
- 3. Although named the " new guinea apricot crayfish " fantastically-coloured variants of the species exist
- 4. Other tasty concoctions include okra soup with dried shrimp and spinach , and melon-seed soup with crayfish .
- 5. The spicy crayfish noodles at eat , a sandwich chain , contained 3.5g per portion , more than half an adult 's recommended maximum in a single salad .