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(krb), n.[AS. crabba; akin to D. krab, G. krabbe, krebs, Icel. krabbi, Sw. krabba, Dan. krabbe, and perh. to E. cramp. Cf. Crawfish.] 1. (Zol.) 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. 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. Crab (krb), 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. Crab v. i.(Naut.)To drift sidewise or to leeward, as a vessel. Ham. Nav. Encyc. Crab a.[Prob. from the same root as crab, n.] Sour; rough; austere. The crab vintage of the neighb'ring coast. Dryden. スポンサード リンク
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