king crab

noun

horseshoe crab.
Also called Alaskan king crab, Alaska crab. a large, edible crab, Paralithodes camtschatica, of cold North Pacific waters, especially abundant along the coasts of Alaska and Japan.

Origin of king crab

First recorded in 1690–1700

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for king crab

Historical Examples of king crab

Of all these the only member alive at the present time is Limulus, or the King-Crab.
The Origin of Vertebrates
Walter Holbrook Gaskell
In the illustration is shown the egg of the king-crab one-third larger than life.
Harper's Young People, July 19, 1881
Various
The Tortoise replied, "Your slave donned it forasmuch as your slave saw the King-crab trailing his three-edged pike."
Childhood's Favorites and Fairy Stories
Various
The compound eye of the king-crab (Limulus) is the only recognized instance of ommatidia in their simplest state.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6
Various
A name of the king-crab (Limulus polyphemus), from its supposed resemblance to that instrument.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth

British Dictionary definitions for king crab

king crab

noun

another name for the horseshoe crab

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012