Alligator
/ˈæl.ɪ.ɡeɪ.tər/noun
A large crocodilian reptile with a broad snout, native to the Americas and China.
Did you know?The English word came from Spanish el lagarto, meaning “the lizard,” and English speakers reshaped it into something that sounded more monstrous and exotic.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leǵ-
“to lick, gather up”
Latin
Latin
lacertus / lacerta
“lizard; also associated with the lizard family name in later learned usage”
Old Spanish
Spanish
el lagarto
“the lizard”
16th Century
English
allagarto / alligator
“a large lizard or crocodile-like reptile, borrowed and reshaped from Spanish”
Modern English
English
alligator
“a large crocodilian reptile of the genus Alligator”