crabstick
See also: crab stick
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology 1
editFrom crab (“wild apple”) + stick.
Noun
editcrabstick (plural crabsticks)
- (now rare) A cudgel, originally made of the wood of a crabapple tree, hence any similar club.
- 1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives, vol. VI, letter 106:
- [O]ne of them who appeared to have the most spirit had a knotted crab-stick in his hand, and insisted that the Irishman should not leave the company, till he had first given satisfaction for the insult he had committed on them all.
- (obsolete) A crabby, ill-tempered person.
Translations
editcudgel
crabby person
Etymology 2
editFrom crab (“crustacean”) + stick.
Noun
editcrabstick (plural crabsticks)
Synonyms
editTranslations
editprocessed seafood
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References
edit- Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of the English Language. International Edition. combined with Britannica World Language Dictionary. Chicago-London etc., Encyclopaedia Britannica, inc., 1965.