alligator
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈæl.ɪ.ɡeɪ.tə/
enpr: ălʹĭ-gā-tər
ipa: /ˈæl.ɪ.ɡeɪ.tɚ/
homophone: allegator
rhymes: -eɪtə(ɹ)
Forms: form: alligators
Etymology: ]
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”).
Senses: examples: text: All you could see of the alligator were two eyes above the water, then suddenly it snatched up and caught the poor bird with strong jaws full of sharp teeth.
text: 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.
ref: 2002, Maurice Burton, Robert Burton, International Wildlife Encyclopedia, page 38:
text: 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.
ref: 2007, Bernie McGovern, editor, Florida Almanac: 2007-2008, 17th edition, page 243:
text: 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.
ref: 2012, Thomas N. Tozer, Pierre's Journey to Florida: Diary of a Young Huguenot in the Sixteenth Century, unnumbered page:
glosses: 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.
topics: biology
history
human-sciences
natural-sciences
paleontology
sciences
glosses: A member of the family Alligatoridae, which includes the caimans.
glosses: A dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis)
examples: text: Alligators were very numerous, in fact the harbour was infested by them.
ref: 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 88:
glosses: A crocodile of any species.
topics: arts
crafts
engineering
hobbies
lifestyle
metallurgy
metalworking
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: Any of various machines with strong jaws, one of which opens like the movable jaw of an alligator.
A form of squeezer for the puddle ball.
topics: business
mining
glosses: Any of various machines with strong jaws, one of which opens like the movable jaw of an alligator.
A rock breaker.
topics: media
printing
publishing
glosses: Any of various machines with strong jaws, one of which opens like the movable jaw of an alligator.
A kind of job press.
glosses: Any of various vehicles that have relatively long, low noses in front of a cab or other, usually windowed, structure.
glosses: An alligator-skin shoe.
glosses: A swing music fan or performer, especially one who is white.
Synonyms: sense: reptile within Crocodilia
word: gator
Coordinate terms: sense: reptile within Crocodilia
word: caiman
sense: reptile within Crocodilia
word: cayman
sense: reptile within Crocodilia
word: croc
sense: reptile within Crocodilia
word: crocodile
sense: reptile within Crocodilia
word: gavial
sense: reptile within Crocodilia
word: gharial
Derived terms: word: Allegheny alligator
word: Alligator Alcatraz
word: Alligator Alley
taxonomic: Annona glabra
word: alligator apple
word: alligator bait
word: alligator clamp
word: alligator clip
word: alligatored
word: alligator fish
alt: Aspidophoroides monopterygius
word: alligatorfish
taxonomic: Thalia spp.
word: alligator flag
word: alligator forceps
taxonomic: Atractosteus spatula
word: alligator gar
word: alligator grass
word: alligatoring
taxonomic: Juniperus deppeana
word: alligator juniper
word: alligator leather
word: alligatorlike
taxonomic: Elgaria spp.
alt: and Coloptychon
word: alligator lizard
word: alligator pear
taxonomic: Aframomum daniellii
word: alligator pepper
word: Alligator Pond
word: alligator press
word: alligator saw
word: alligator shear
word: alligator snapper
taxonomic: Macrochelys temminckii
word: alligator snapping turtle
word: alligator spread
word: alligator terrapin
word: alligator tortoise
word: alligator turtle
taxonomic: Macrochelys temminckii
word: alligator-turtle
taxonomic: Alternanthera philoxeroides
word: alligator weed
word: alligator-wood
taxonomic: Liquidambar styraciflua
word: alligatorwood
word: alligator wrench
taxonomic: Alligator mississippiensis
word: American alligator
word: big-lipped alligator moment
taxonomic: Alligator sinensis
word: Chinese alligator
word: gator
taxonomic: Anisomorpha ferruginea
word: prairie alligator
word: you later alligator
alt: spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus)
word: spectacled alligator
word: werealligator