Crabbed

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /kɹæbd/

Definitions

1. Exhibiting a grumpy or petulant demeanor
2. Showing handwriting or text that is cramped and hard to read ; having a bad-tempered or irritable attitude
3. Describes written characters that are tight and unclear, making reading challenging ; characterized by a grouchy or disagreeable mood

Etymology: "Crabbed" looks like a simple past-participle form of "crab," but the link is more interesting than that. A crab is a sideways-moving creature, and the adjective first meant something like "perverse" or "ill-tempered," in the sense of a disposition that turns awkwardly against others. The crab image of an animal that moves obliquely and resists being pushed in a straight line carried over to temperament: a person who is contrary, cross-grained, and hard to deal with. The word entered Middle English as "crabbed," built from "crab" with the suffix "-ed," which turned the noun into an adjective describing someone or something having the crab's qualities. The same crab-based sense of perversity also produced the verb "to crab," meaning to find fault or to be peevish. Over time the meaning narrowed toward irritability and sourness, the grumpy demeanor the word carries today. Its older sense of cross-grained obstinacy survives in a related use for handwriting: a "crabbed" hand is cramped, twisted, and hard to read, as if the letters refuse to line up.

Synonyms: irritable, grumpy, cross

Antonyms: cheerful, easygoing