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more about crab
crab |
5 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Crab \Crab\ (kr[a^]b), n. [AS. crabba; akin to D. krab, G. krabbe krebs, Icel. krabbi, Sw krabba Dan. krabbe and perh. to E. cramp. Cf {Crawfish}.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) One of the brachyuran Crustacea. They are mostly marine, and usually have a broad, short body, covered with a strong shell or carapace. The abdomen is small and curled up beneath the body. Note: The name is applied to all the Brachyura, and to certain Anomura, as the hermit crabs. Formerly, it was sometimes applied to Crustacea in general. Many species are edible, the blue crab of the Atlantic coast being one of the most esteemed. The large European edible crab is {Cancer padurus}. {Soft-shelled crabs} are blue crabs that have recently cast their shells. See {Cancer}; also {Box crab}, {Fiddler crab}, {Hermit crab}, {Spider crab}, etc., under {Box}, {Fiddler}. etc 2. The zodiacal constellation Cancer. 3. [See {Crab}, a.] (Bot.) A crab apple; -- so named from its harsh taste. When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl, Then nightly sings the staring owl. --Shak. 4. A cudgel made of the wood of the crab tree; a crabstick. [Obs.] --Garrick. 5. (Mech.) a A movable winch or windlass with powerful gearing, used with derricks, etc b A form of windlass, or geared capstan, for hauling ships into dock, etc c A machine used in ropewalks to stretch the yarn. d A claw for anchoring a portable machine. {Calling crab}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Fiddler}., n., 2. {Crab apple}, a small sour apple, of several kinds; also the tree which bears it as the European crab apple ({Pyrus Malus} var. sylvestris); the Siberian crab apple ({Pyrus baccata}); and the American ({Pyrus coronaria}). {Crab grass}. (Bot.) a A grass ({Digitaria, or Panicum, sanguinalis}); -- called also {finger grass}. b A grass of the genus {Eleusine} ({E. Indica}); -- called also {dog's-tail grass}, {wire grass}, etc {Crab louse} (Zo["o]l.), a species of louse ({Phthirius pubis}), sometimes infesting the human body. {Crab plover} (Zo["o]l.), an Asiatic plover ({Dromas ardeola}). {Crab's eyes}, or {Crab's stones}, masses of calcareous matter found at certain seasons of the year, on either side of the stomach of the European crawfishes, and formerly used in medicine for absorbent and antacid purposes; the gastroliths. {Crab spider} (Zo["o]l.), one of a group of spiders ({Laterigrad[ae]}); -- called because they can run backwards or sideways like a crab. {Crab tree}, the tree that bears crab applies. {Crab wood}, a light cabinet wood obtained in Guiana, which takes a high polish. --McElrath. {To catch a crab} (Naut.), a phrase used of a rower: a when he fails to raise his oar clear of the water; b when he misses the water altogether in making a stroke. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Crab \Crab\ (kr[a^]b), v. t. 1. To make sour or morose; to embitter. [Obs.] Sickness sours or crabs our nature. --Glanvill. 2. To beat with a crabstick. [Obs.] --J. Fletcher. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Crab \Crab\, v. i. (Naut.) To drift sidewise or to leeward, as a vessel. --Ham. Nav. Encyc. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Crab \Crab\, a. [Prob. from the same root as crab, n.] Sour; rough; austere. The crab vintage of the neighb'ring coast. --Dryden. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: crab n 1: decapod having eyes on short stalks and a broad flattened carapace with a small abdomen folded under the thorax and pincers 2: a quarrelsome grouch [syn: {crabby person}] 3: the edible flesh of any of various crabs [syn: {crabmeat}] 4: infests the pubic region of the human body [syn: {crab louse}, {pubic louse}, {Phthirius pubis}] 5: a stroke of the oar that either misses the water or digs too deeply; "he caught a crab and lost the race" v : fish for crab
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