Crabbling

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Catching crabs using basic methods such as bare hands, nets, or simple baited traps ; moving to the side in an ungainly or sidelong way
2. The practice of collecting crabs through direct hand capture or rudimentary equipment ; locomotion executed sideways or with cramped, twisted motions
3. Harvesting crabs by direct hand methods or primitive snares ; progressing laterally or in a contorted, crablike fashion

Etymology: The ending does most of the work here. "-ling" is an Old English diminutive suffix, the same one found in "duckling" and "gosling," so the word is essentially "little crab." The base, "crab," goes back to Old English "crabba," which has cognates in Dutch "krab" and other Germanic languages, and the same root sits behind the verb "to crab," meaning to move sideways or to complain.

Synonyms: crab fishing, crabbing