Emily Dickinson Lexicon

LOB'STER, n. [Sax. loppestre or lopystre. The first syllable coincides with Sax. lobbe, a spider, and with loppe, a flea; probably all named from their shapes or legs. The last syllable coincides with ster, in spinster, minister.]

Astacus Gammarus, a crustaceous articulated animal, with an elongated somewhat cylindrical body and ten extremities. The six anterior extremities are furnished with a finger and a thumb which have teeth. When one of these extremities is broken off, it will be reproduced in a few weeks; But the new one is never quite as large as the old one. They change their crust annually. They inhabit the clearest water, at the foot of rocks that impend over the sea.