Lobster
Lobster , noun
[Anglo-Saxon loppestre, lopystre prob., corrupted from Latin locusta a marine shellfish, a kind of lobster, a locust. Compare Locust.]
1.
(Zoology) Any large macrurous crustacean used as food, esp. those of the genus Homarus; as the American lobster (Homarus Americanus), and the European lobster (Homarus 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.
2.
As a term of opprobrium or contempt: A gullible, awkward, bungling, or undesirable person. [Slang]
Collocations (2)
Lobster caterpillar (Zoology) , the caterpillar of a European bombycid moth (Stauropus fagi); -- so called from its form.
Lobster louse (Zoology) , a copepod crustacean (Nicothoe astaci) parasitic on the gills of the European lobster.