Etymology

crabwise

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Today it means: In the manner of a crab; sideways. Full definition →

Proto-Germanic *wīsaz ← Proto-Indo-European *weyd-s-ós ← English crab
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The story

  1. Englishcrab
  2. Proto-Indo-European*weyd-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*wéydos
  4. Proto-Indo-European*weyd-s-ós
  5. Proto-Germanic*wīsaz
  6. English todaycrabwise

From crab + -wise.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.