Why is it Crab?

You say a word enough times, and sometimes suddenly, it doesn’t make sense anymore. What makes crab, well, crab? And specifically, Dungeness?

There are more than 4,400 varieties of crabs in the world. The Dungeness crab, Metacarcinus Magister (formerly Cancer Magister), is a species that inhabits eelgrass beds and water bottoms on the west coast of North America. Its common name comes from the former small town of Dungeness on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, which first began commercially-harvesting the delicacy.

As for the “crab” part, ask the Latins – they invented the word for the Cancer sign, since the modern symbol for Cancer represents the pincers of a crab.

In the Egyptian records of about 2000 B.C., crab was described as Scarabaeus (Scarab), the sacred emblem of immortality. In Babylonia the constellation was known as MUL.AL.LUL, a name which can refer to both a crab and a snapping turtle. There also appears to be a strong connection between the Babylonian constellation and ideas of death and a passage to the underworld. Crabs, coincidentally, when trying to escape capture, can bury themselves quickly and deeply in sand.

Impress your friends with your new knowledge at your next crab-n-cocktail party!