crayfish

The story

1. substrate · derived from
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gerbʰ-
3. Proto-Germanic · derived from*krabitaz“crab, cancer”
4. Frankish · derived from*krebit“crab”
5. Frankish · derived from*krebitja“crayfish”
6. Old French · derived fromcrevice
7. Middle English · derived fromcrevis
8. English todaycrayfish

Alteration (by folk etymological influence of fish) of Middle English crevis (whence modern dialectal crevis), from Old French crevice ("crayfish"; > Modern French: écrevisse), from Frankish *krebitja (“crayfish”), diminutive of Frankish *krebit (“crab”), from Proto-Germanic *krabitaz (“crab, cancer”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ-, *grebʰ- (“to scratch, crawl”), or from a substrate word folk-etymologically influenced by this root. Akin to Old High German krebiz (Modern German Krebs (“crustacean, crab, crayfish”)), Middle Low German krēvet (“crab, crayfish”), Dutch kreeft (“crayfish, lobster”), Old English crabba (“crab”). More at crab. Doublet of crevette, crevis, and Krebs.

Words from the same roots