Bridlington’s culture and language is intertwined with the fish that the town depends upon. Indeed, as an island nation, much of our language is closely related to the sea and fish that surround us. In this article, we examine this link, considering the origins of the words we use for shellfish, as well as some of the terms they have given us.
Lobster – ‘The locust of the sea’
Today, lobsters are synonymous with luxury. Think of the well-known shellfish and you will normally think of cordon bleu cooking and fine dining.
This has not always been the case though: During the medieval period, lobsters, or lopusteres, as they were then called, were seen as a cheap fish for locals to eat.
Going further back to the late Roman and Dark ages, lobsters were actually known as locusta. This term grouped many long, thin shellfish with the infamous crop-eating insect simply because of their body shape and the fact they have hard outer bodies. Crayfish were often called locusta, too, before the term narrowed and developed to only include our larger claw-bearing friends.
Crab – ‘Clawed crabbas’
The origin of the crab’s name is simpler and more predictable than that of the lobster. It comes from the Old English / Germanic word crabba, meaning ‘to claw or scratch.’ The term refers to grabbing and pinching. It fits well with the animal’s defining characteristic, sideways walking aside.
The velvet and brown crabs – Do exactly what they say on the … shell?
The two main types of crab we fish are the velvet crab and the brown crab. Both these names are modern English, with straightforward origins: The velvet crab is so-called because of the dense covering of fine hairs on its claws and carapace, which give it a velvety texture. The brown crab is, yes, you guessed it, brown!
Whelk – ‘Weoloc or weloc’
The whelk’s name goes back again to the Old English and Germanic languages, where the words weoloc or weloc referred to a snail-like shellfish. These were particularly used for the kinds of sea snail that are regularly eaten or used for bait in Britain and Ireland, as well as Germany. The word has stayed stable in the intervening years and still references edible marine gastropods.
Crabby – Irritable and quick to anger
Crabs tend to be quick to pinch and be aggressive with their claws. This makes them hard to handle and gives the impression that they are grumpy and easily angered. So perhaps it is natural that people who behave in this way get compared to crabs and earn the name ‘crabby.’
‘My lobster’ – A ‘friendly’, modern term
The phrase “You’re my lobster” brings us fairly well up to date. It was introduced on the TV series Friends when Phoebe, one of the main characters, speaks about her belief that lobsters fall in love and walk around their tank holding claws. Although it was a brief reference, it has taken hold in the intervening years and has since become a stable phrase and internet meme.
So our search for shellfish name origins and uses has taken us on a journey through time from ancient Latin to recent television series. So next time you’re eating a lobster, think of the journey it has come on from being a locust of the sea to a great romantic symbol of the modern world.