crabbed [ME] The crab [OE] is at the root of crabbed. Both original senses, the medieval ‘perverse or wayward’ and the later ‘cantankerous and bad-tempered’ [M16th], come from aspects of a crab’s behaviour, the way it walks sideways and its habit of snapping. Crabby [L18th] is a later word, also derived from crab. The gambling game craps [E19th] may be from crab or crab’s eyes, for the lowest throw (two ones) at dice, also known as snake eyes. See also cancer, crayfish.