Word Study
fiddler
CIDE DICTIONARY
fiddler, n. [AS. fi.].
- One who plays on a fiddle or violin. [1913 Webster]
- A burrowing crab of the genus
Gelasimus , of many species. The male has one claw very much enlarged, and often holds it in a position similar to that in which a musician holds a fiddle, hence the name; -- called alsofiddler crab ,calling crab ,soldier crab , andfighting crab . [1913 Webster] - The common European sandpiper (
Tringoides hypoleucus ); -- so called because it continually oscillates its body. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
fiddler, n.
1 a fiddle-player.
2 sl. a swindler, a cheat.
3 any small N. American crab of the genus Uca, the male having one of its claws held in a position like a violinist's arm.
1 a fiddle-player.
2 sl. a swindler, a cheat.
3 any small N. American crab of the genus Uca, the male having one of its claws held in a position like a violinist's arm.
Etymology
OE fithelere (as FIDDLE)
ROGET THESAURUS
fiddler
Musician
N musician, artiste, performer, player, minstrel, bard, accompanist, accordionist, instrumentalist, organist, pianist, violinist, flautist, harper, fiddler, fifer, trumpeter, piper, drummer, catgut scraper, band, orchestral waits, vocalist, melodist, singer, warbler, songster, chaunter, chauntress, songstress, cantatrice, choir, quire, chorister, chorus, chorus singer, liedertafel, nightingale, philomel, thrush, siren, bulbul, mavis, Pierides, sacred nine, Orpheus, Apollo, the Muses Erato, Euterpe, Terpsichore, tuneful nine, tuneful quire, composer, performance, execution, touch, expression, solmization, playing, musical, adagio, andante.For further exploring for "fiddler" in Webster Dictionary Online