Krebs

• (surname): Creps

As a German, Alemannic German, and occasionally Danish surname, from the noun Krebs (“crab”).

Krebs (countable and uncountable, plural Krebs or Krebses)

1. (countable) A surname from German.
2. A city in Oklahoma, United States.

• Berks, Berks., Kerbs, berks, breks, kerbs

From Middle High German krebz, krebez, krebeze, from Old High German crebiz, krebiz, from Proto-West Germanic *krabit, from Proto-Germanic *krabitaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”), see also Old Prussian gīrbin (“number”), Old Church Slavonic жрѣбии (žrěbii, “lot, tallymark”), Ancient Greek γράφειν (gráphein, “to scratch, etch”), Dutch kreeft.

The sense “cancer” is a semantic loan from Latin cancer. By metathesis from Ancient Greek καρκίνος (karkínos, “crab”); applied to cancerous tumors because the enlarged veins resembled the legs of a crab.

Compare Krabbe, English crab.

• IPA^(key): /kʁeːps/ (standard)
• IPA^(key): /kʁɛps/ (regionally, chiefly western German)

• Audio:

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• Audio:

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Krebs m (strong, genitive Krebses, plural Krebse)

1. crustacean, crab, crayfish
2. cancer (disease)
3. (astronomy, astrology) Cancer

• krebsartig

• → Danish: krebs
• → German Low German: Krebs
• → Norwegian Bokmål: kreps
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: kreps
• → Saterland Frisian: Krääps
• → Scanian: krævs
• → Yiddish: קרעבס (krebs)

• “Krebs” in Duden online
• “Krebs” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

From Middle High German krebz, krebez, krebeze, from Old High German crebiz, krebiz, from Proto-West Germanic *krabit.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkreps/
• Rhymes: -eps
• Syllabification: Krebs

Krebs m (plural Krebs)

1. crab
2. cancer

• Krebszang

• Online Hunsrik Dictionary

• IPA^(key): [krebs]

Krebs m pers (female equivalent Krebsová)

1. a male surname from German

• “Krebs”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025