crayfish的词源

英文词源

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.).

来自古法语crevice，词源同crab, 拼写受fish影响俗化。

该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：crayfish 词源，crayfish 含义。

小龙虾（crayfish）长得像虾，但其前部长有一对大螯，看起来很像螃蟹。所以西方人称其为“蟹”而非“虾”。单词crayfish中的Cary就是从crab（螃蟹）演变而来的。后面的fish则是16世纪添加上去的。