crabbed

[krab-id] /ˈkræb ɪd/
adjective
1.
grouchy; ill-natured; irritable; churlish.
2.
perverse; contrary; obstinate.
3.
hard to understand; intricate and obscure.
4.
difficult to read or decipher, as handwriting.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English; see crab1, -ed3
Related forms
crabbedly, adverb
crabbedness, noun
Synonyms
1. cross, peevish, cantankerous.

crab1

[krab] /kræb/
noun
1.
any decapod crustacean of the suborder Brachyura, having the eyes on short stalks and a short, broad, more or less flattened body, the abdomen being small and folded under the thorax.
2.
any of various other crustaceans, as the hermit crab, or other animals, as the horseshoe crab, resembling the true crabs.
3.
(initial capital letter) Astronomy, Astrology. the zodiacal constellation or sign Cancer.
4.
(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the Crab Nebula.
5.
any of various mechanical contrivances for hoisting or pulling.
6.
Aeronautics. the maneuver of crabbing.
7.
Informal. the crab louse.
See under louse (def 1).
8.
crabs.
  1. (used with a singular verb) a losing throw, as two aces, in the game of hazard.
  2. pediculosis.
verb (used without object), crabbed, crabbing.
9.
to catch or attempt to catch crabs.
10.
to move sideways, diagonally, or obliquely, especially with short, abrupt bursts of speed; scuttle.
11.
Aeronautics. (of an aircraft) to head partly into the wind to compensate for drift.
12.
Nautical. to drift or advance with some movement sideways, especially when under tow.
verb (used with object), crabbed, crabbing.
13.
to move (a vehicle or object) sideways, diagonally, or obliquely, especially with short, abrupt movements.
14.
Aeronautics. to head (an aircraft) partly into the wind to compensate for drift.
Idioms
15.
catch a crab, to make a faulty stroke in rowing, so that the oar strikes the water forcibly on the backstroke.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English crabbe, Old English crabba; cognate with Dutch krab, Old Norse krabbi; akin to German Krebs
Related forms
crablike, adjective

crab3

[krab] /kræb/
noun
1.
Informal. an ill-tempered or grouchy person.
verb (used without object), crabbed, crabbing.
2.
Informal. to find fault; complain.
3.
(of hawks) to claw each other.
verb (used with object), crabbed, crabbing.
4.
Informal. to find fault with.
5.
to make ill-tempered or grouchy; embitter.
6.
(of a hawk) to claw (another hawk).
7.
Slang. to spoil.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English; back formation from crabbed
Related forms
crabber, noun
Examples from the web for crabbed
  • He was a little quicktempered and irascible, and people were apt to think him cross and crabbed, but he had a kind heart.
  • His own crabbed sentences go far to exasperate even a reader who must needs respect his scholarship.
  • The play piers have taken a hold of the people which no crabbed old bachelor can loosen with trumped-up charges.
  • Nothing could be more detrimental to an ambitious work of history than to frame it in the crabbed terms of a contemporary spat.
  • Under crabbed conditions, this risk increases proportionally to the increasing effective beam of the vessel.
  • In so doing, the court took an unduly crabbed view of what a deposit can be.
British Dictionary definitions for crabbed

crabbed

/ˈkræbɪd/
adjective
1.
surly; irritable; perverse
2.
(esp of handwriting) cramped and hard to decipher
Derived Forms
crabbedly, adverb
crabbedness, noun
Word Origin
C13: probably from crab1 (from its wayward gait), influenced by crab(apple) (from its tartness)

crab1

/kræb/
noun
1.
any chiefly marine decapod crustacean of the genus Cancer and related genera (section Brachyura), having a broad flattened carapace covering the cephalothorax, beneath which is folded the abdomen. The first pair of limbs are modified as pincers See also fiddler crab, soft-shell crab, pea crab, oyster crab related adjective cancroid
2.
any of various similar or related arthropods, such as the hermit crab and horseshoe crab
3.
short for crab louse
4.
a manoeuvre in which an aircraft flies slightly into the crosswind to compensate for drift
5.
a mechanical lifting device, esp the travelling hoist of a gantry crane
6.
(wrestling) See Boston crab
7.
(rowing) catch a crab, to make a stroke in which the oar either misses the water or digs too deeply, causing the rower to fall backwards
verb crabs, crabbing, crabbed
8.
(intransitive) to hunt or catch crabs
9.
(transitive) to fly (an aircraft) slightly into a crosswind to compensate for drift
10.
(intransitive) (nautical) to move forwards with a slight sideways motion, as to overcome an offsetting current
11.
(intransitive) to move sideways
See also crabs
Word Origin
Old English crabba; related to Old Norse krabbi, Old High German krebiz crab, Dutch krabben to scratch

crab2

/kræb/
verb crabs, crabbing, crabbed
1.
(intransitive) to find fault; grumble
2.
(transitive) (mainly US) to spoil (esp in the phrase crab someone's act)
noun
3.
an irritable person
4.
(Austral) draw the crabs, to attract unwelcome attention
Word Origin
C16: probably back formation from crabbed

crab3

/kræb/
noun
1.
short for crab apple
Word Origin
C15: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish skrabbe crab apple

Crab

/kræb/
noun
1.
the Crab, the constellation Cancer, the fourth sign of the zodiac
Word Origin and History for crabbed
adj.

late 14c., literally "resembling a crab," in reference to crookedness, from crab (n.1). Of taste "bitter, harsh," late 14c., from crab (n.2). Meaning "peevish" is attested from 1560s, in reference to a crab's combative disposition.

crab

n.

crustacean, Old English crabba, from a general Germanic root (cf. Dutch krab, Old High German krebiz, German Krabbe, Old Norse krabbi "crab"), related to Low German krabben, Dutch krabelen "to scratch, claw," from PIE root *gerbh- "to scratch, carve" (see carve). The constellation name is attested in English from c.1000; the Crab Nebula (1868), however, is in Taurus, and is so called for its shape. French crabe (13c.) is from Dutch.

"fruit of the wild apple tree," c.1300, crabbe, perhaps from Scandinavian scrab, of obscure origin (cf. Swedish krabbäpple). The combination of "bad-tempered, combative" and "sour" in the two nouns crab naturally yielded a verb meaning of "to vex, irritate" (c.1400), later "to complain irritably, find fault" (c.1500). The noun meaning "sour person" is from 1570s.

Slang definitions & phrases for crabbed

crab

noun
  1. : He's an awful crab, never gives her a moment's peace
  2. A resident of Annapolis, Maryland (1920s+)
verb
  1. To complain, esp to do so regularly; nag; bitch: Crab, crab, crab, that was all she ever did/ So us crabbing about our zero-life factors isn't up for debate, really (1812+)
  2. To spoil; ruin: He's trying to crab the deal (1890s+)