Shrimp and prawn are common names without the formal definition that scientific terms provide. They are terms of convenience with little circumscriptional significance, and do not represent actual taxa.
The terms shrimp and prawn have no definite reference to any known taxonomic groups. Although the term shrimp is sometimes applied to smaller species, while prawn is more often used for larger forms, there is no clear distinction between both terms and their usage is often confused or even reverse in different countries or regions.
The term shrimp originated around the 14th century with the Middle English shrimpe, akin to the Middle Low German Schrempen, and meaning to contract or wrinkle; and the Old Norse skorpna, meaning to shrivel up. It is not clear where the term prawn originated, but early forms of the word surfaced in England in the early 15th century as prayne, praine and prane.
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