WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Lob"ster
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [AS. loppestre, lopystre prob., corrupted fr. L. locusta a marine shellfish, a kind of lobster, a locust. Cf. Locust.] (Zo?l.)
Definition : Defn: Any large macrurous crustacean used as food, esp. those of the genus Homarus; as the American lobster (H. Americanus), and the European lobster (H. vulgaris). The Norwegian lobster (Nephrops Norvegicus) is similar in form. All these have a pair of large unequal claws. The spiny lobsters of more southern waters, belonging to Palinurus, Panulirus, and allied genera, have no large claws. The fresh-water crayfishes are sometimes called lobsters. Lobster caterpillar (Zo?l.), the caterpillar of a European bombycid moth (Stauropus fagi); -- so called from its form. Lobster louse (Zo?l.), a copepod crustacean (Nicotho? astaci) parasitic on the gills of the European lobster.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913