Lobster

Lobster

Noun · /ˈlɒb.stər/

Definition

A large marine crustacean with a hard shell, five pairs of legs including large claws, and a muscular tail; valued as a delicacy; also used in figurative expressions about status, luxury, and in the phrase to go red as a lobster.

Origin

From Old English lopystre — a lobster — a corruption of Latin locusta (lobster, locust), from the resemblance of the creature to a locust in its segmented form. The change from locusta to lopystre was influenced by Old English loppe (spider). Lobster entered Middle English as lopster, then lobster.