rhizoverbBeta
DictionarycrayfishFreshwater crustacean
noun

crayfish

KRAY-fish/ˈkreɪfɪʃ/

A small freshwater crustacean resembling a lobster.

A crayfish crawls along the rocky bottom of the stream.

A realistic olive-brown crayfish partly emerges from beneath a stream rock, seen from above at a slight angle with two forward pincers, segmented body and fan tail, two long antennae and four pairs of smaller legs, clear shallow freshwater ripples.
Etymology
crayfishOld Frenchcrayfish

Old French escrevice already meant this small crustacean. Its later reinterpretation under the influence of fish made an inherited animal name seem like a familiar English compound.

In context

Dr. Dan Science0:20
today is going to be dissection day we're looking at the crayfish now the crayfish is a really cool creature it's found in the water it's part of the kingdom Animalia phylum Arthropoda and the class crustacean
Biology - The Dissection of a Crayfish: The External Anatomy

More examples

  • We found three crayfish hiding under a flat rock.
  • The crayfish raises its claws when a fish approaches.
  • She adds cooked crayfish to the spicy stew.

Forms

crayfish · crayfishes

Similar words

crawfish
Regional American name for the same animal, especially in Louisiana.
crawdad
Informal American name for the same freshwater crustacean.