2596: crab, crib, & carve Jan 23, 2022

The word 'crab' is ultimately traced back to the Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- meaning 'to twist; to scratch; to claw', but so are 'carve', 'crib', and 'crèche'. Much of this has to do with leading to varied understanding, such as 'crab' and 'crayfish’ from Proto-Germanic *krabbô (to crawl) as opposed to 'crib' from Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ (wickerwork, basket) from the sense of twisting & weaving material. This led to a sense of 'clump; group' and then 'crèche' was born. 'Carve' is from the sense of this word as scratching, and is related to the Old Prussian gīrbin (number) from the idea of tallying.