lobster meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

lobster

noun

UK /ˈlɒb.stə/ · US /ˈlɑb.stɚ/

Etymology From Middle English loppestere, lopster, from Old English loppestre, lopustre, lopystre, of uncertain origin. Some believe it to be a corruption of Latin lō̆custa (“grasshopper, locust”) + the Old English feminine agent suffix -estre. In Latin, the phrase lō̆custa marīna (literally "sea-grasshopper") signified a type of crustacean (shrimp or lobster). Alternatively, from Old English lobbe, loppe (“spider”) + the Old English feminine agent suffix -estre, equivalent to lop + -ster.

1

A crustacean of the Nephropidae family, dark green or blue-black in colour turning bright red when cooked, with a hard shell and claws, which is used as a seafood.

› Various other crustaceans that resemble true…

2

A spiny lobster, also called the rock lobster, a crustacean of the Palinuridae family, pinkish red in colour, with a hard, spiny shell but no claws, which is used as a seafood.

3

A slipper lobster (a crustacean of the family Scyllaridae).

4

A squat lobster.

5

Historical, Slang A soldier or officer of the imperial British Army (due to their red or scarlet uniform).

[…] how the troops came marching out for evening exercise under Captain Preston; how pedestrians and street urchins taunted them, shouting "Lobsters," "Bloody-backs," and flinging snow-balls, turnips, […]1912, Ralph Davol, Two Men of Taunton: In the Course of Human Events, 1731-1829, page 214:

6

Slang An Australian twenty-dollar note, due to its reddish-orange colour.

Synonyms: sea locust, lobsterback, redcoat
Derived terms: 78 terms
American lobster, Andaman lobster, Arafura lobster, Bermuda lobster, bight lobster, blue lobster, California lobster, Cape lobster, Caribbean lobster, China lobster, clawed lobster, common lobster, European lobster, fan lobster, Formosa lobster, furry lobster, globster, Japanese lobster, land lobster, lazy lobster, lobsterback, lobsterboat, lobster box, lobster caterpillar, lobster clasp, lobster claw, lobsterer, lobsterette, lobsterish, lobsterlike, lobsterling, lobster louse, lobsterman, lobster moth, lobster mushroom, lobster Newberg, lobster palace, lobsterperson, lobster pot, lobster pound, lobster prominent, lobster roll, lobster sauce, lobsterscope, lobster scorpion, lobster shift, lobster sloop, lobster-tailed pot, lobster-tail pot, lobster thermidor, lobster trap, lobsterwoman, lobstery, Maine lobster, mitten lobster, mole lobster, mud lobster, Neptune lobster, New Zealand lobster, northwest lobster, Norway lobster, poor man's lobster, raw lobster, reef lobster, rock lobster, scorpion lobster, sculpted lobster, Siboga lobster, slipper lobster, spiny lobster, squat lobster, the world is one's lobster, tree lobster, true lobster, unboiled lobster, velvet lobster, white lobster, yeti lobster
Hyponyms: cray, langouste, spiny lobster, rock lobster

lobster

verb

Etymology From Middle English loppestere, lopster, from Old English loppestre, lopustre, lopystre, of uncertain origin. Some believe it to be a corruption of Latin lō̆custa (“grasshopper, locust”) + the Old English feminine agent suffix -estre. In Latin, the phrase lō̆custa marīna (literally "sea-grasshopper") signified a type of crustacean (shrimp or lobster). Alternatively, from Old English lobbe, loppe (“spider”) + the Old English feminine agent suffix -estre, equivalent to lop + -ster.

1

To fish for lobsters.

lobster

adj

Etymology From Middle English loppestere, lopster, from Old English loppestre, lopustre, lopystre, of uncertain origin. Some believe it to be a corruption of Latin lō̆custa (“grasshopper, locust”) + the Old English feminine agent suffix -estre. In Latin, the phrase lō̆custa marīna (literally "sea-grasshopper") signified a type of crustacean (shrimp or lobster). Alternatively, from Old English lobbe, loppe (“spider”) + the Old English feminine agent suffix -estre, equivalent to lop + -ster.

1

Red-colored, especially from a sunburn.

Related terms: crawfish, crayfish, mudbug, prawn, shrimp, yabby, 🦞