Crayfish

Crayfish
Crawfish Craw"fish` (kr[add]"f[i^]sh`), Crayfish Cray"fish` (kr[=a]"f[i^]sh`), n.; pl. {-fishes} or {-fish}. [Corrupted fr. OE. crevis, creves, OF. crevice, F. ['e]crevisse, fr. OHG. krebiz crab, G. krebs. See {Crab}. The ending -fish arose from confusion with E. fish.] (Zo["o]l.) Any decapod crustacean of the family {Astacid[ae]} (genera {Cambarus} and {Cambarus}), 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 Mammoth Cave is {Cambarus pellucidus}. The common European species is {Astacus fluviatilis}.

Syn: crawdad, crawdaddy. [1913 Webster]

2. tiny lobsterlike crustaceans usually boiled briefly.

Syn: crawdad, ecrevisse. [WordNet 1.5]

3. a large edible marine crustacean having a spiny carapace but lacking the large pincers of true lobsters.

Syn: spiny lobster, langouste, rock lobster, crayfish, sea crawfish. [WordNet 1.5]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • 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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