O.E. loppestre, corruption of L. locusta "lobster, locust," by influence of O.E. loppe "spider," a variant of lobbe. Trilobite fossils in Worcestershire limestone quarries were known colloquially as locusts, which seems to be the generic word for "unidentified arthropod
the L. word originally meant "lobster or some similar crustacean, the application to the locust being suggested by the resemblance in shape." Locusta in sense "lobster" also borrowed in Fr. ( langouste ), Old Cornish ( legast ).
by influence of O.E. loppe "spider,"
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