English
cancrine
Cancrine comes from Latin cancer ‘crab’, from Proto-Italic *kankros ‘enclosure, fence’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to turn, bend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to turn, bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kr-kr-‘circular’reconstructedreduplication of *(s)ker-
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karkros‘enclosure’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*kankros‘enclosure, fence’reconstructeddissimilation of *karkros
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcancer‘crab’
- Englishearliest quotation 1772cancrine
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to turn, bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kr-kr-‘circular’reconstructedreduplication of *(s)ker-
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karkros‘enclosure’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*kankros‘enclosure, fence’reconstructeddissimilation of *karkros
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcancer‘crab’
- Englishearliest quotation 1772cancrine
Earliest quotation: 1772, José Francisco de Isla, London: T. Davies: “[…] the prodigious variety of ſo many kinds of…”
The story
The poetry sense comes from the fact that most species of crab can walk sideways, either left or right.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to turn, bend’
short, share, across, score, card, cross, screen, shirt, circle, circuit, curve, crucial, circus, circulation, skirt, scare, curb, carnival, scar, crest, corona, shear, scrutiny, scorpion, circa, shred, raffle, circulate, corolla, scorn, shrine, carnage, shrewd, shard, incarceration, cirque, circulatory, carcinoma, corgi, crux, 113 more
through Proto-Italic *kankros ‘enclosure, fence’
cancerous, chancellery, 4 more
through Latin cancer ‘crab’
Today it means
adj Of or pertaining to crabs.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / cancrine