alligator

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al·li·ga·tor

(ăl′ĭ-gā′tər)

1. Either of two large semiaquatic reptiles, Alligator mississipiensis of the southeast United States or A. sinensis of China, having sharp teeth and powerful jaws. They differ from crocodiles in having a broader, shorter snout.

2. Leather made from the hide of one of these reptiles.

3. A tool or fastener having strong, adjustable, often toothed jaws.

[Alteration of Spanish el lagarto, the lizard : el, the (from Latin ille, that; see al- in Indo-European roots) + lagarto, lizard (from Latin lacertus).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

alligator

(ˈælɪˌɡeɪtə)

1. (Animals) a large crocodilian, Alligator mississipiensis, of the southern US, having powerful jaws and sharp teeth and differing from the crocodiles in having a shorter and broader snout: family Alligatoridae (alligators and caymans)

2. (Animals) a similar but smaller species, A. sinensis, occurring in China near the Yangtse River

3. (Animals) any crocodilian belonging to the family Alligatoridae

4. (Tools) any of various tools or machines having adjustable toothed jaws, used for gripping, crushing, or compacting

[C17: from Spanish el lagarto the lizard, from Latin lacerta]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

al•li•ga•tor

(ˈæl ɪˌgeɪ tər)

n.

either of two crocodilians of the genus Alligator, of the southeastern U.S. and E China, characterized by a broad snout.

[1560–70; < Sp el lagarto the lizard < Vulgar Latin *ille that + *lacartus, for Latin lacertus lizard]

al·li·ga·tor

(ăl′ĭ-gā′tər)

A large, meat-eating, aquatic reptile having sharp teeth and powerful jaws. Alligators have a broader, shorter snout than crocodiles, and their teeth do not show when the jaws are closed. There are two species of alligators: one living in the southeast United States and one living in China.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

alligator

- From Spanish el lagarto, "the lizard," which may have come from Latin lacerta; the alligator has a shorter, blunter snout than a crocodile.

alligator

[ˈælɪgeɪtəʳ] N → caimán m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

alligator

[ˈælɪgeɪtə^r]

n → alligator m

modif [shoes, handbag] → en peau d'alligator, en alligatorall-important [ˌɔːlɪmˈpɔː^rt^ənt] adj → capital(e), crucial(e)all-in [ˌɔːlˈɪn] adj [charge] → tout compris inv
see also allall-inclusive [ˌɔːlɪnˈkluːsɪv] adj [price, rate] → tout compris invall-in-one [ˌɔːlɪnˈwʌn] n → combinaison fall-in wrestling n (British) → catch m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

alligator

n → Alligator m; alligator(-skin) bag → Alligatorledertasche f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

alligator

[ˈælɪgeɪtəʳ] n → alligatore m

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

alligator

(ˈӕligeitə) noun

a kind of large reptile closely related to the crocodile, found mainly in the rivers of the warmer parts of America.

alligator

→ تـِمْساحٌ أَمِرِيكيّ aligátor alligator Alligator αλιγάτορας caimán alligaattori alligator aligator alligatore ワニ 악어 alligator alligator aligator jacaré аллигатор alligator จระเข้ timsah cá sấu Mỹ 短嘴鳄

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

References in classic literature ?

Through the windows of their carriage the travellers had glimpses of the diversified landscape of Behar, with its mountains clothed in verdure, its fields of barley, wheat, and corn, its jungles peopled with green alligators, its neat villages, and its still thickly-leaved forests.

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They hastened onward, therefore, and were compelled to ford several rivers, not without danger, for they were infested with huge alligators from fifteen to eighteen feet long.

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Not to mention all the people alive who have made inventions that won't act, and all the jobbers who job in all the jobberies jobbed; though these may be regarded as the Alligators of the Dismal Swamp, and are always lying by to drag the Golden Dustman under.

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But this hard body might be a bony covering, like that of the antediluvian animals; and I should be free to class this monster among amphibious reptiles, such as tortoises or alligators.

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It was a single arch of gray stone, and lying flat upon the bridge was a scarlet alligator, seemingly fast asleep.

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A NEGRO in a boat, gathering driftwood, saw a sleeping Alligator, and, thinking it was a log, fell to estimating the number of shingles it would make for his new cabin.

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I will no longer be housekeeper for you if you don't send away that alligator."

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There was a tree just behind which bore alligator pears, and all about were the cocoa-nuts which gave the land its revenue.

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In the interior was displayed a stuffed alligator, a rattlesnake's skin, a bundle of Indian arrows, an old-fashioned matchlock gun, a walking-stick of Governor Winthrop's, a wig of old Cotton Mather's, and a colored print of the Boston massacre.

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"I've just composed a tune called 'The Speckled Alligator.' It's in patch-time, which is much superior to rag-time, and I've composed it in honor of the Patchwork Girl, who has just arrived."

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Frequently, too, the villages on its shores are half submerged, as was the case with Ngornou in 1856, and now the hippopotamus and the alligator frisk and dive where the dwellings of Bornou once stood.

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But I understand there are deep pools of water in the land where we are going, and in them lives a fish that has a hide like an alligator and a jaw like a shark.

Noun	1.	alligator - leather made from alligator's hide leather - an animal skin made smooth and flexible by removing the hair and then tanning
	2.	alligator - either of two amphibious reptiles related to crocodiles but with shorter broader snouts gator crocodilian, crocodilian reptile - extant archosaurian reptile genus Alligator - type genus of the Alligatoridae Alligator mississipiensis, American alligator - large alligator of the southeastern United States Alligator sinensis, Chinese alligator - small alligator of the Yangtze valley of China having unwebbed digits
Verb	1.	alligator - crack and acquire the appearance of alligator hide, as from weathering or improper application; of paint and varnishes crack - break partially but keep its integrity; "The glass cracked"