Crevise

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An old word for a freshwater crayfish ; an obsolete spelling of a narrow crack or fissure in rock or wood
2. Archaic term for a small freshwater crustacean resembling a lobster ; a former variant meaning a narrow opening or split in a surface
3. Old name for a crayfish found in streams ; a dated form of the word for a slit or narrow gap in stone or earth

Etymology: Before "crevise" named a freshwater crustacean, it was one of several English spellings of "crayfish," a word that also appears as "crawfish." The root is a Germanic word related to modern German "Krebs" (crab), which entered Old French in forms like "crevisse," and English borrowed the French version. The creature's name is therefore tied to the crab family rather than to the idea of a shell or a crack. The spelling can be confused with "crevice," a narrow opening in rock. That word comes from a different Old French source, "crevace," from "crever," meaning to burst or split. The resemblance between the two is coincidental, since one name descends from an animal's name and the other from a verb of breaking.