[krey-fish] 
) -fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) -fish⋅es. | 1. | Also called crawdad, crawdaddy. any freshwater decapod crustacean of the genera Astacus and Cambarus, closely related to but smaller than the lobsters. |
| 2. | any of several similar marine crustaceans, esp. the spiny lobster. |
| craw·dad (krô'dād') n. Chiefly Southern & Western U.S. See crayfish. [craw(fish) + dad.] |
| cray·fish (krā'fĭsh') n. pl. crayfish or cray·fish·es also crawfish or craw·fish·es
[By folk etymology from Middle English crevise, from Old French crevice, perhaps from Old High German krebiz, edible crustacean; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots.] Word History: The crayfish, also known as the crawfish, owes its name to a misunderstanding. The actual source of the word may be the Old High German word krebiz, "edible crustacean," or a word related to it. From this Germanic source came Old French crevice, which when taken into English became crevise (first recorded in a document written in 1311-1312). In Old French and Middle English these words designated the crayfish. People began to pronounce and spell the last part of this word as if it were fish, the first fish spelling being recorded in 1555. Because of a variation in Anglo-Norman pronunciation, two forms of the word have come down to Modern English: crayfish and crawfish. |