crayfish

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a small freshwater crustacean resembling a lobster, or its flesh used as food

   We found a crayfish hiding beneath a stone in the stream.

2. 2
   noun

   in some varieties of English, a spiny lobster or another similar marine crustacean

   The divers saw a large rock crayfish retreat into a crevice.

Altered by association with fish from Middle English crevis, borrowed from Old French crevice, 'crayfish,' of Germanic origin. The animal is a crustacean, not a fish; the modern spelling is therefore the result of folk etymology.

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