'crabwood' originates from English, a compound of 'crab' (Old English 'crabba') and 'wood' (Old English 'wudu'); here 'crab' historically referred to crabapple or small fruit-bearing trees and was used in compounds to name various kinds of trees or their wood.

'crabwood' formed in Modern English as a transparent compound from older elements: Old English 'crabba' + 'wudu' → Middle English forms (with similar compounds) → Modern English 'crabwood'. The modern botanical use (for Carapa species) developed later as English speakers applied familiar compound names to tropical species.

Originally used more generally for wood from trees associated with the element 'crab' (often crabapple-like trees), the term later narrowed in some regions to denote specific tropical trees (Carapa spp.) and their timber.