cancer

Meaning

1. (declension-2, masculine) a crab
2. (declension-2, masculine) a crab
3. (declension-2, masculine) a tumor, cancer
4. (declension-2, masculine) a lattice, grid, or barrier

Concepts

crayfish

crab

🦀

cancer

♋

crawfish

heat of summer

the direction south

Synonyms

cancer marinus

Translations

Krebs

écrevisse

cangrejo

🦀

gambero

rivierkreeft

caranguejo

🦀

kerevit

cangrejo de río

aragosta

καρκίνος

سرطان

🦀

cranc

🦀

cáncer

♋

langoustine

Pronounced as (IPA)

[ˈkaŋ.kɛr]

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *kankros, dissimilation of Proto-Italic *karkros (“enclosure”) (because the pincers of a crab form a circle), from Proto-Indo-European *kr-kr- (“circular”), reduplication of Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”) in the sense of "enclosure", and as such a doublet of carcer. Cognate with curvus. The medical sense, found in Celsus, seems likely to be a semantic loan from Ancient Greek καρκίνος (karkínos, “crab; ulcer; cancer”), which is possibly cognate.