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 the Southern Hemisphere, resembling a lobster but considerably smaller. Also called mudbug; also called regionally crawdad.
2. See spiny lobster.
[By folk etymology from Middle English crevise, from Old French crevice, perhaps from Old High German krebiz, edible crustacean; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots.]
Word History: The crayfish, also known as the crawfish, owes its name to a misunderstanding. The actual source of the word may be the Old High German word krebiz, "edible crustacean," or a word related to it. From this Germanic source came Old French crevice, which when taken into English became crevise (first recorded in a document written in 1311-1312). In Old French and Middle English these words designated the crayfish. People began to pronounce and spell the last part of this word as if it were fish, the first fish spelling being recorded in 1555. Because of a variation in Anglo-Norman pronunciation, two forms of the word have come down to Modern English: crayfish and crawfish.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
crayfish
(ˈkreɪˌfɪʃ) orcrawfish
n, pl -fish or -fishes
1. (Animals) any freshwater decapod crustacean of the genera Astacus and Cambarus, resembling a small lobster
2. (Animals) any of various similar crustaceans, esp the spiny lobster
[C14: cray, by folk etymology, from Old French crevice crab, from Old High German krebiz + fish]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
cray•fish
(ˈkreɪˌfɪʃ)also crawfish
n., pl. (esp. collectively) -fish, (esp. for kinds or species) -fish•es.
1. Also called crawdad , crawdaddy. any of various mainly freshwater decapod crustaceans, esp. of the genera Astacus and Cambarus, resembling small lobsters.
2. (not in technical use) the spiny lobster.
[1350–1400; alter. (by folk etym.) of Middle English crevis < Middle French crevice < Old High German krebiz crab1]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  crayfish - warm-water lobsters without claws; those from Australia and South Africa usually marketed as frozen tails; caught also in Florida and Californiasea crawfish, spiny lobster, langouste, rock lobster, crawfish, crayfish - large edible marine crustacean having a spiny carapace but lacking the large pincers of true lobsters shellfish - meat of edible aquatic invertebrate with a shell (especially a mollusk or crustacean) |
| 2. |  crayfish - tiny lobster-like crustaceans usually boiled brieflyOld World crayfish, ecrevisse - small crayfish of Europe and Asia and western North America American crayfish - common large crayfishes of eastern North America shellfish - meat of edible aquatic invertebrate with a shell (especially a mollusk or crustacean) | |
| 3. |  crayfish - small freshwater decapod crustacean that resembles a lobsterdecapod, decapod crustacean - crustaceans characteristically having five pairs of locomotor appendages each joined to a segment of the thorax Old World crayfish, ecrevisse - small crayfish of Europe and Asia and western North America American crayfish - common large crayfishes of eastern North America | |
| 4. |  crayfish - large edible marine crustacean having a spiny carapace but lacking the large pincers of true lobsterslobster - any of several edible marine crustaceans of the families Homaridae and Nephropsidae and Palinuridae genus Palinurus, Palinurus - type genus of the family Palinuridae crayfish, langouste, rock lobster, spiny lobster - warm-water lobsters without claws; those from Australia and South Africa usually marketed as frozen tails; caught also in Florida and California |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
جَرَادُ البَحْرجَراد بَحْر
rak
krebs
äyriäinenrapu
slatkovodni rak
folyami rákrák: folyami rák
vatnakrabbi
ザリガニ
가재
cancer
vēzis
rak
kräfta
กุ้งชนิดหนึ่งคล้ายกุ้งก้ามกราม
kerevittatlı su istakozu
tôm sông
crayfish
[ˈkreɪfɪʃ] N (crayfish or crayfishes (pl)) (freshwater) → cangrejo m or (LAm) jaiba f de río; (saltwater) → cigala fCollins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
crayfish
[ˈkreɪfɪʃ] [crayfish] [ˈkreɪfɪʃ] (pl) n (freshwater) → écrevisse f
(saltwater) → langoustine f
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
crayfish
n
(freshwater) → Flusskrebs m
(saltwater: also crawfish) → Languste f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
crayfish
(ˈkreifiʃ) – plural ˈcrayfish – (also especially American , crawfish (ˈkroːfiʃ) – plural ˈcrawfish) a type of edible shellfish.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
crayfish
→ جَرَادُ البَحْر rak krebs Languste καραβίδα cangrejo de río äyriäinen écrevisse slatkovodni rak gambero d’acqua dolce ザリガニ 가재 rivierkreeft kreps langusta lagostim речной рак kräfta กุ้งชนิดหนึ่งคล้ายกุ้งก้ามกราม kerevit tôm sông 小龙虾Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009