This  live crustacean is called *astice* in Italian. The one on the right is *aragosta*

![picture of crustacean labeled "this is an astice"][1]![picture of a crustacean labeled "and this is an aragosta"][2]

They look very different from one another. The Italian dictionary describes the [astice][3] as having a deep (intense) blue colour (*turchino*) with yellow splotches and **large claws**, whereas the [aragosta][4] has a reddish body, five pairs of legs, long antennae and an incredibly hard shell that covers its body and head. To me it looks like a giant insect. In English, however, they are both called *lobster* and if you eat lobster in either a British or an American restaurant, they will often present you with an *astice*. An article in the London [Evening Standard][5] clearly shows the restaurateur (an Italian!) with two large ‘astices’ in his hands. :))

I don't care which species they give me, frankly they're both delicious, but if I were to invite an Italian friend to a Boston restaurant and order lobster for both of us, she might be dismayed at seeing an *astice* on her plate. 

The Italian term *astice* is derived from *astakós*; Greek for *prawn* or *lobster* (which one exactly seems to be quite ambiguous). [Astakos][6] is the name of a Greek fishing bay.

The Online Etymological Dictionary says (emphasis mine)  

> **[lobster][7]** (n.) marine shellfish, Old English *loppestre* "lobster, locust," corruption of Latin *locusta*, lucusta "lobster, **locust**," by influence of Old English *loppe* "spider," a variant of *lobbe*. The ending of Old English l*oppestre* is the fem. agent noun suffix (as in *Baxter*, *Webster*; see *[-ster][8]*), which approximated the Latin sound. [. . .] 
>OED says the Latin word originally meant "lobster or some similar crustacean, the application to the locust being suggested by the resemblance in shape." ***Locusta*** in the sense "lobster" also appears in French (*langouste* now "crawfish, crayfish," but in Old French "lobster" and "locust;" a 13c. psalter has God giving over the crops of Egypt to the *langoustes*) and Old Cornish (*legast*).


![picture of a cooked lobster on a plate with lemon slices][9]


Questions
---------

1. Why is there only one term in English for these two different species?
2. To me the Boston "black" lobster (*astice*) looks more like a scarab beetle or a crab than a locust. How did this crustacean get its English name?
3. If I wanted to order *aragosta* in an English speaking restaurant, what should I ask for?




images: [*Così cucino io*][10]; [*Alimentipedia*][11] and [*The Food Almanac*](http://thefoodalmanac.com/joomla1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1964:wednesday-october-21-2009-boston-the-oldest-restaurant-in-america-a-salty-waitress-bad-karaoke-&catid=73:october-2009&Itemid=328)


  [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/reFDe.jpg
  [2]: https://i.sstatic.net/RqIM4.jpg
  [3]: http://www.garzantilinguistica.it/ricerca/?q=astice
  [4]: http://www.garzantilinguistica.it/ricerca/?q=aragosta
  [5]: http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/restaurants/londons-new-lobster-restaurants-9865084.html
  [6]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astakos
  [7]: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=lobster
  [8]: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=-ster&allowed_in_frame=0
  [9]: https://i.sstatic.net/RijyB.jpg
  [10]: http://blog.giallozafferano.it/eleme/2012/11/03/astice-bollito-allolio-e-limone/
  [11]: http://www.alimentipedia.it/aragosta.html