crocodile
English
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/NileCrocodile.jpg/220px-NileCrocodile.jpg)
Etymology
From Middle English cocodrill, cokadrill, cokedril, from Old French cocodril (modern French crocodile), from Medieval Latin cocodrillus, from Latin crocodilus, from Ancient Greek κροκόδειλος (krokódeilos). The word was later refashioned after the Latin and Greek forms. Doublet of krokodil.
The verb is derived from the noun as a calque of Esperanto krokodili
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkɹɑkədaɪl/, [ˈkʰɹɑkədaɪɫ]
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkɹɒkədaɪl/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- Hyphenation: croc‧o‧dile[1]
Noun
crocodile (plural crocodiles)
- Any of the predatory amphibious reptiles of the family Crocodylidae; (loosely) a crocodilian, any species of the order Crocodilia, which also includes the alligators, caimans and gavials.
- 2005, Mwelwa Musambachime, Basic Facts on Zambia, page 97:
- Industrial and rural expansion is shrinking and destroying the Nile crocodile's natural habitat. The Nile crocodiles, in particular, have been a source of highly durable leather for a variety of products which can be crafted and manufactured.
- 2008, Walkter B. Wood, “Chapter 16: Forensic Identification in Fatal Crocodile Attacks”, in Marc Oxenham, editor, Forensic Approaches to Death, Disaster and Abuse, page 244:
- Two species of crocodile inhabit Australian waterways: (a) the saltwater Crocodile — Crocodylus porosus, and (b) the freshwater crocodile — Crocodylus johnstoni.
- 2011, Sam Thaker, The Crocodile's Teeth, page 31:
- One contained some brightly-coloured tropical birds, one a python and the other a large and very lively crocodile.
I told the customer that the boxes containing the crocodile and the python were not packed to my satisfaction, as there were not enough nails securing them.
- A long line or procession of people (especially children) walking together.
- 1939, George Orwell, Coming Up for Air, part 2, chapter 8:
- Sometimes the kids from the slap-up boys' schools in Eastbourne used to be led round in crocodiles to hand out fags and peppermint creams to the 'wounded Tommies', as they called us.
- (logic) A fallacious dilemma, mythically supposed to have been first used by a crocodile.
- 1798, Maria Edgeworth, Practical Education:
- We have seen syllogisms, crocodiles, enthymemas, sorites, &c. explained and tried upon a boy of nine or ten years old in playful conversation […]
Synonyms
- (predatory amphibious reptile): croc (informal)
Derived terms
- after a while, crocodile
- American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)
- Australian freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni)
- black crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus madagascariensis)
- Chinese crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus)
- crocodile bird (Pluvianus aegyptius)
- crocodile clip
- crocodile shear
- crocodile tears
- Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer)
- dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis)
- estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)
- freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni)
- in a while, crocodile
- Indo-Pacific crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)
- Johnston's crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni)
- marsh crocodile (Crocodylus palustris)
- Mindoro crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis)
- Morelet's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii)
- mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris)
- New Guinea crocodile (Crocodylus novaeguineae)
- Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)
- Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius)
- Philippine crocodile, Philippine freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis)
- saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)
- Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis)
- slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops spp.)
- swamp crocodile (Crocodylus palustris)
Related terms
Descendants
- → Maori: kokorotaera, karakotaera
- → Niuean: kirokotaili
- → Tokelauan: kolokotaila
- → Tongan: kalokataile
- → Welsh: crocodeil
Translations
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Verb
crocodile (third-person singular simple present crocodiles, present participle crocodiling, simple past and past participle crocodiled)
- (intransitive, slang) To speak another language than Esperanto at an Esperanto-language gathering.
Translations
See also
References
crocodile on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Crocodylidae on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
Category:Crocodylidae on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
French
Etymology
From Old French cocodril, inherited from Latin crocodīlus with metathesis, later respelled to match the Latin form. Compare English crocodile, itself respelled from Middle English cocodrill.
Pronunciation
Noun
crocodile m (plural crocodiles)
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
- Antillean Creole: krokodil
- Mauritian Creole: krokodil
- Seychellois Creole: krokodil
- → Romanian: crocodil
- → Persian: کروکودیل (krokodil)
Further reading
- “crocodile”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
- “crocodile” in Émile Littré, Dictionnaire de la langue française, 1872–1877.
Norman
Etymology
From Old French cocodril, from Medieval Latin cocodrillus, from Classical Latin crocodilus, from Ancient Greek κροκόδειλος (krokódeilos).
Noun
crocodile f (plural crocodiles)
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English doublets
- English terms calqued from Esperanto
- English terms derived from Esperanto
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- en:Logic
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English slang
- en:Crocodilians
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms derived from Latin
- French terms derived from Ancient Greek
- French terms borrowed from Latin
- French learned borrowings from Latin
- French 3-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- fr:Crocodilians
- Norman terms inherited from Old French
- Norman terms derived from Old French
- Norman terms derived from Medieval Latin
- Norman terms derived from Latin
- Norman terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Norman lemmas
- Norman nouns
- Norman feminine nouns
- Jersey Norman
- nrf:Crocodilians