crawfish

crawfish
/kraw"fish'/, n., pl. (esp. collectively) crawfish, (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) crawfishes, v.
n.
1. crayfish.
v.i.
2. Informal. to back out or retreat from a position or undertaking.
[1615-25; earlier crafish, cravish, cravis, var. outcomes of MF crevice CRAYFISH]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • crawfish — v. i. to back out in a humilating manner; as, We ll have to crawfish out from meeting with him. Syn: retreat, back out, back away, crawfish out, withdraw. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Crawfish — Craw fish (kr[add] f[i^]sh ), Crayfish Cray fish (kr[=a] f[i^]sh ), n.; pl. { fishes} or { fish}. [Corrupted fr. OE. crevis, creves, OF. crevice, F. [ e]crevisse, fr. OHG. krebiz crab, G. krebs. See {Crab}. The ending fish arose from confusion… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • crawfish — [krô′fish΄] n. pl. crawfish or crawfishes (see FISH) CRAYFISH vi. Informal to withdraw from a position; back down …   English World dictionary

  • crawfish — 1620s, generally dismissed by British etymologists as a 19c. Amer.Eng. variant of CRAYFISH (Cf. crayfish), but it apparently existed in M.E …   Etymology dictionary

  • crawfish — [[t]krɔ͟ːfɪʃ[/t]] N COUNT (crawfish is both the singular and the plural form.) A crawfish is a small shellfish with five pairs of legs which lives in rivers and streams. You can eat some types of crawfish. [AM] Syn: crayfish (in BRIT, use… …   English dictionary

  • crawfish — Ⅰ. craw·fish (krô’fĭsh′) n. Chiefly Southern & Midland US ▸ Variant of CRAYFISH(Cf. ↑crayfish). intr.v. craw·fished, craw·fish·ing, craw·fish·es Informal ▸ To withdraw from an undertaking. Ⅱ …   Word Histories

  • crawfish — UK [ˈkrɔːˌfɪʃ] / US [ˈkrɔˌfɪʃ] noun [countable/uncountable] Word forms crawfish : singular crawfish plural crawfishes a crayfish …   English dictionary

  • crawfish — /ˈkrɔfɪʃ/ (say krawfish) noun (plural crawfish or crawfishes) 1. → crayfish. –verb (i) 2. to move in the manner of a crawfish, close to the ground with arms and legs outspread. {earlier cravish, crafish, from Old French crevice. Compare crayfish} …  

  • Crawfish — Écrevisse de Louisiane Écrevisse de Louisiane …   Wikipédia en Français

  • crawfish — craw|fish [ˈkro:ˌfıʃ US ˈkro: ] n plural crawfish a ↑crayfish …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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