lobster

(lŏbˈstər)

noun

1. Any of several edible marine crustaceans of the family Homaridae, especially of the genus Homarus, having stalked eyes, long antennae, and five pairs of legs, the first pair of which is modified into large pincers.
2. Any of several crustaceans, such as the spiny lobster, that are related to the lobsters.
3. The flesh of a lobster used as food.

intransitive verb lob·stered, lob·ster·ing, lob·sters

Related Forms:

• lobˈster·er noun

Word History: A lobster and a locust may share a common source for their name, that is, the Latin word locusta, which was used for the locust and also for a crustacean that was probably a kind of lobster. We can see that locusta would be the source of locust, but it looks like an unlikely candidate as the source of lobster. It is thought, however, that Old English loppestre, the ancestor of lobster, was formed from locusta and the suffix -estre used to make agent nouns (our -ster). The change from Latin locusta to Old English loppestre may have been influenced by Old English loppe, meaning “spider.”