*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of crab

From Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba (“crab; crayfish; cancer”), from Proto-West Germanic *krabbō, from Proto-Germanic *krabbô, from *krabbōną (“to scratch”), from Proto-Indo-European *grobʰeh₂yéti (“to sc

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Any crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace. · The meat of this crustacean, served as food; crabmeat. · Any of various crustacean in the infraorder Anomura, usually excluding squat lobsters. · A horseshoe crab.

verb

To fish for crabs. · To ruin. · To complain. · To complain about.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba (“crab; crayfish; cancer”), from Proto-West Germanic *krabbō, from Proto-Germanic *krabbô, from *krabbōną (“to scratch”), from Proto-Indo-European *grobʰeh₂yéti (“to scratch”), a metathesised o-grade of *gerbʰ- (“to carve, scratch”). More at carve. Cognates See also Dutch krab, Low German Krabb, Danish krabbe, Swedish krabba. Further cognates with frequentative-infix are Saterland Frisian krabbelje (“to creep, crawl”), Dutch krabbelen (“to scratch”) and German krabbeln (“to crawl”). Possibly related to English creep and Swedish krypa (“to creep, crawl”) etc. Other origins have also been suggested, see Ancient Greek κάραβος (kárabos) (regarding the possibility of a substrate origin) and Persian خرچنگ (regarding possible ideophonic origin); compare also Old Armenian քարբ (kʻarb), German Krebs.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Root classification mention*gerbʰ-ine-pro
  • Inherited-form mentioncrabbeenm
  • Inherited-form mentioncrabbaang · crab; crayfish; cancer
  • Inherited-form mention*krabbōgmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*krabbôgem-pro
  • Cognate mentionkrabnl
  • Cognate mentionkrabbeljestq · to creep, crawl
  • Cognate mentionkrabbelennl · to scratch
  • Cognate mentionkrabbelnde · to crawl
  • Cognate mentioncreepen
  • Cognate mentionkrypasv · to creep, crawl

This page abbreviates 17 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gerbʰ-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "crabbe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English crabbe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "crabba",
        "t": "crab; crayfish; cancer"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English crabba (“crab; crayfish; cancer”)"
    },
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      },
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    },
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      },
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    },
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      "name": "der",
      "args": {
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        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "",
        "4": "*grobʰeh₂yéti",
        "t": "to scratch"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *grobʰeh₂yéti (“to scratch”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
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        "2": "krab"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch krab"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "krabbelje",
        "t": "to creep, crawl"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian krabbelje (“to creep, crawl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
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      },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
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        "2": "krabbeln",
        "t": "to crawl"
      },
      "expansion": "German krabbeln (“to crawl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "creep"
      },
      "expansion": "English creep"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "krypa",
        "t": "to creep, crawl"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish krypa (“to creep, crawl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "κάραβος"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek κάραβος (kárabos)"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "fa",
        "2": "خرچنگ"
      },
      "expansion": "Persian خرچنگ"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "xcl",
        "2": "քարբ"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Armenian քարբ (kʻarb)"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Krebs"
      },
      "expansion": "German Krebs"
    }
  ],
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      "crabbe#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "crabba",
      "crabba#Old_English"
    ],
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      "*krabbō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/krabbō"
    ],
    [
      "*krabbô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/krabbô"
    ],
    [
      "*krabbōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/krabbōną"
    ],
    [
      "*gerbʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gerbʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "carve",
      "carve#English"
    ],
    [
      "krab",
      "krab#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Krabb",
      "Krabb#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "krabbe",
      "krabbe#Danish"
    ],
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      "krabba",
      "krabba#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "frequentative",
      "frequentative"
    ],
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      "krabbelje",
      "krabbelje#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "krabbelen",
      "krabbelen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "krabbeln",
      "krabbeln#German"
    ],
    [
      "creep",
      "creep#English"
    ],
    [
      "krypa",
      "krypa#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "κάραβος",
      "κάραβος#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "خرچنگ",
      "خرچنگ#Persian"
    ],
    [
      "քարբ",
      "քարբ#Old_Armenian"
    ],
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      "Krebs",
      "Krebs#German"
    ]
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        "The meat of this crustacean, served as food; crabmeat.",
        "Any of various crustacean in the infraorder Anomura, usually excluding squat lobsters.",
        "A horseshoe crab."
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To irritate, make surly or sour · To be ill-tempered; to complain or find fault. · To cudgel or beat, as with a crabstick · To offend or insult.

noun

A crab apple or wild apple. · A tree bearing crab apples, which has a dogbane-like bitter bark with medical use. · A cudgel made of the wood of the crab tree; a crabstick. · A movable winch or windlass with powerful gearing, used with derricks, etc.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English crabbe (“wild apple”), of Germanic origin, plausibly from North Germanic, cognate with Swedish dialect skrabba (“sour apple, apple cart”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentioncrabbeenm · wild apple

This page abbreviates 3 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "1": "en",
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      },
      "expansion": "Middle English crabbe (“wild apple”)"
    },
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      "args": {
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        "3": "-"
      },
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    },
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  ],
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        "To offend or insult."
      ],
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        "A tree bearing crab apples, which has a dogbane-like bitter bark with medical use.",
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

The tree species Carapa guianensis, native to South America.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Possibly a corruption of the genus name Carapa

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
noun

Clipping of carabiner, modified based on likening the shape of a carabiner to a crab's claw.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From carabiner.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for crab →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
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Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Y3JhYg