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Webster 1913 Edition

Alligator

Al′li-gaˊtor

,
Noun.
[Sp.
el lagarto
the lizard (
el lagarto de Indias
, the cayman or American crocodile), fr. L.
lacertus
,
lacerta
, lizard. See
Lizard
.]
1.
(Zool.)
A large carnivorous reptile of the Crocodile family, peculiar to America. It has a shorter and broader snout than the crocodile, and the large teeth of the lower jaw shut into pits in the upper jaw, which has no marginal notches. Besides the common species of the southern United States, there are allied species in South America.
2.
(Mech.)
Any machine with strong jaws, one of which opens like the movable jaw of an alligator
;
as,
(a)
(Metal Working)
a form of squeezer for the puddle ball
;
(b)
(Mining)
a rock breaker
;
(c)
(Printing)
a kind of job press, called also
alligator press
.
Alligator apple
(Bot.)
,
the fruit of the
Anona palustris
, a West Indian tree. It is said to be narcotic in its properties.
Loudon.
–
Alligator fish
(Zool.)
,
a marine fish of northwestern America (
Podothecus acipenserinus
).
–
Alligator gar
(Zool.)
,
one of the gar pikes (
Lepidosteus spatula
) found in the southern rivers of the United States. The name is also applied to other species of gar pikes.
–
Alligator pear
(Bot.)
,
a corruption of
Avocado pear
. See
Avocado
.
–
Alligator snapper
,
Alligator tortoise
,
Alligator turtle
(Zool.)
,
a very large and voracious turtle (
Macrochelys lacertina
) inhabiting the rivers of the southern United States. It sometimes reaches the weight of two hundred pounds. Unlike the common snapping turtle, to which the name is sometimes erroneously applied, it has a scaly head and many small scales beneath the tail. This name is sometimes given to other turtles, as to species of
Trionyx
.
–
Alligator wood
,
the timber of a tree of the West Indies (
Guarea Swartzii
).

Webster 1828 Edition

Alligator

ALLIGA'TOR

,
Noun.
[The Latin word seems to be connected with lacertus, the arm; and the animal may be named from the resemblance of his legs to arms.]
The American crocodile. This animal is of the lizard genus, having a long naked body, four feet, with five toes on the fore feet, and four on the hind, armed with claws, a serrated tail. The mouth is very large, and furnished with sharp teeth; the skin is brown, tough, and, on the sides, covered with tubercles. The largest of these animals grow to the length of seventeen or eighteen feet. They live in and about the rivers in warm climates, eat fish, and sometimes catch hogs, on the shore, or dogs which are swimming. In winter, they burrow in the earth, which they enter under water and work upwards, lying torpid till spring. The female lays a great number of eggs, which are deposited in the sand, and left to be hatched by the heat of the sun.

Definition 2024

Alligator

Alligator

See also: alligator and al·ligàtor

Translingual

Alligator mississippiensis (the American alligator)

Proper noun

Alligator m

  1. A taxonomic genus within the family Alligatoridae – the alligators.

Hypernyms

Hyponyms


German

Pronunciation

Noun

Alligator m ‎(genitive Alligators, plural Alligatoren)

  1. alligator (animal)

Declension

alligator

alligator

See also: Alligator and al·ligàtor

English

An alligator, Alligator mississippiensis

Pronunciation

Noun

alligator ‎(plural alligators)

  1. Either of two species of large amphibious reptile, Alligator mississippiensis or Alligator sinensis, in the genus Alligator within order Crocodilia, which have sharp teeth and very strong jaws and are native to the Americas and China, respectively.
    All you could see of the alligator were its two eyes above the water, and suddenly it snatched up and caught the poor bird with its strong jaws full of sharp teeth.
    • 2002, Maurice Burton, Robert Burton, International Wildlife Encyclopedia, page 38,
      Alligators and crocodiles look extremely alike.
      The main distinguishing feature is the teeth. In a crocodile the teeth in its upper and lower jaws are in line, but in an alligator, when its mouth is shut, the upper teeth lie outside the lower ones.
    • 2007, Bernie McGovern (editor), Florida Almanac: 2007-2008, 17th Edition, page 243,
      In 1967, the federal government declared alligators to be an Endangered Species and prohibited gator hunting and the sale of hides. The alligator responded and by the mid-1970s, the reptile numbers soared to an estimated half-million.
    • 2012, Thomas N. Tozer, Pierre's Journey to Florida: Diary of a Young Huguenot in the Sixteenth Century, unnumbered page,
      They ran to the village screaming at the top of their lungs that an alligator was coming after them. Several of the men in Alimacani retrieved from a storehouse the tool they used to catch alligators.
  2. Any of various machines with strong jaws, one of which opens like the movable jaw of an alligator.
    1. (metalworking) A form of squeezer for the puddle ball.
    2. (mining) A rock breaker.
    3. (printing) A kind of job press.
  3. Any of various vehicles that have relatively long, low noses in front of a cab or other, usually windowed, structure.
Synonyms
  • (reptile within Crocodilia): gator (informal)
Coordinate terms
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

alligator ‎(third-person singular simple present alligators, present participle alligatoring, simple past and past participle alligatored)

  1. (of paint or other coatings) To crack in a pattern resembling an alligator's skin.
    • 2003, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Essentials of Home Inspection: Roofing, page 24,
      Alligatoring is a result of the sun making the top surface of the asphalt brittle.
    • 2004, James E. Piper, Handbook of Facility Assessment, page 39,
      Sealing an area that is alligatoring is a temporary solution that may delay having to replace the asphalt for several years. A more permanent repair would be to replace the alligatored section.
    • 2009, Kären M. Hess, Christine M. H. Orthmann, Criminal Investigation, page 483,
      Common burn indicators include alligatoring, crazing, the depth of char, lines of demarcation, sagged furniture springs and spalling.

References

  • "Alligator" in Michael Quinion, Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds, 2004.
  • alligator in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • “alligator” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).

Etymology 2

Borrowing from Latin alligātor.

Noun

alligator ‎(plural alligators)

  1. (obsolete) One who binds or ties.
See also

Danish

Noun

alligator c (singular definite alligatoren, plural indefinite alligatorer)

  1. alligator

Declension

References

Dutch

Pronunciation

Noun

alligator m ‎(plural alligators, diminutive alligatortje n)

  1. alligator

French

Etymology

English alligator.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a.li.ɡa.tɔʁ/

Noun

alligator m ‎(plural alligators)

  1. alligator (animal)

Latin

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Etymology

alligo ‎(“I bind”) +‎ -tor

Noun

alligātor m ‎(genitive alligātōris); third declension

  1. one who ties or binds
    • 4 CE – c. 70 CE, Columella, De Re Rustica 4.13
      Impedationem deinde sequitur alligator, cuius officium est ut rectam vitem producat in iugum.
      Then, after the propping, comes the binder, whose task it is to train the vine upright to the frame.

Inflection

Third declension.

Case Singular Plural
nominative alligātor alligātōrēs
genitive alligātōris alligātōrum
dative alligātōrī alligātōribus
accusative alligātōrem alligātōrēs
ablative alligātōre alligātōribus
vocative alligātor alligātōrēs

Descendants

References

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Spanish el lagarto ‎(“the lizard”), via English alligator

Noun

alligator m ‎(definite singular alligatoren, indefinite plural alligatorer, definite plural alligatorene)

  1. alligator

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Spanish el lagarto ‎(“the lizard”), via English alligator

Noun

alligator m ‎(definite singular alligatoren, indefinite plural alligatorar, definite plural alligatorane)

  1. alligator

References

Swedish

Noun

alligator c

  1. alligator (animal)

Declension

Inflection of alligator 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative alligator alligatorn alligatorer alligatorerna
Genitive alligators alligatorns alligatorers alligatorernas

Etymology

a. 1807, from English alligator, from early Modern English alligater, alligarta, aligarto, alegarto, alagarto, from Spanish el lagarto ("the lizard"), from Latin lacertus ‎(“lizard”), modern spelling possibly influenced by the unrelated Latin alligator ‎(“one who binds”)

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