purple shore crab
- See under shore crab.
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Origin of purple shore crab
An Americanism dating back to 1880–85
shore crab
- any of numerous crabs that live along the shoreline between the tidemarks, as Hemigrapsus nudus (purple shore crab), of the Pacific coast of North America.
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Origin of shore crab
First recorded in 1840–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018