crocodile

crocodile
\ \ [13] The crocodile gets its name from its habit of basking in the sun on sandbanks or on the shores of rivers. The word means literally ‘pebble-worm’, and it was coined in Greek from the nouns krókēpebbles’ and drilosworm’.
\ \ The resulting Greek compound *krokódrīlos has never actually been found, for it lost its second r, giving krokódīlos, and this r reappeared and disappeared capriciously during the word’s journey through Latin and Old French to English. Middle English had it – the 13th century form was cokodrille – but in the 16th century the modern r-less form took over, based on Latin crocodīlus.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • crocodile — [ krɔkɔdil ] n. m. • 1538; cocodrille XIIe; lat. crocodilus, gr. krokodeilos 1 ♦ Grand reptile amphibien (crocodiliens) des rivières tropicales et équatoriales, au museau large et long (par opposition au gavial et à l alligator); abusivt Tout… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Crocodile — Beim Crocodile handelt es sich um ein 1872 in Nordfrankreich eingeführtes Zugsicherungssystem. Es wird heute als sehr unsicher angesehen und durch weitere Systeme, z. B. KVB ergänzt. Das Gerät wird heute in Frankreich, Luxemburg und Belgien… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • CROCODILE — (Heb. תַּנִּיך or תַּנִּים), the largest surviving reptile, with a length of as much as 23 feet (7 m.) or more. The tannim or tannin of the Bible refers to the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) and also to gigantic mythological animals said… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Crocodile — Croc o*dile (kr[o^]k [ o]*d[imac]l; 277), n. [L. crocodilus, Gr. kroko deilos: cf. F. crocodile. Cf. {Cookatrice}.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) A large reptile of the genus {Crocodilus}, of several species. They grow to the length of sixteen or eighteen feet,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Crocodile 2 — (Crocodile 2: Death Swamp) est un film américain réalisé par Gary Jones, sorti en 2002. Sommaire 1 Synopsis 2 Fiche technique 3 Distribution 4 Autour du film …   Wikipédia en Français

  • crocodile — CROCODILE. s. m. Espece d animal amphibie à quatre pieds, de la figure d un lezard, mais beaucoup plus grand, couvert d escailles, qui se trouve ordinairement dans le Nil, dans le Gange, & dans plusieurs autres fleuves. Grand crocodile. la peau d …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • crocodile — CROCODILE. s. m. Animal amphibie à quatre pieds, couvert d écailles, de la figure d un lézard. Il y a des crocodiles dans le Nil, dans le Gange, et dans plusieurs autres fleuves. Grand crocodile. La peau d un crocodile. Des oeufs de crocodile.… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • crocodile — 1560s, restored spelling of M.E. cokedrille, kokedrille (c.1300), from M.L. cocodrillus, from L. crocodilus, from Gk. krokodilos, word applied by Herodotus to the crocodile of the Nile, apparently due to its basking habits, from kroke pebbles +… …   Etymology dictionary

  • crocodile — [kräk′ə dīl΄] n. [ME cocodril < OFr cocodrille < ML cocodrillus, altered < L crocodilus < Gr krokodilos, lizard (hence, “lizard of the Nile,” crocodile) < * krokodrilos < krokē, pebble, gravel (? akin to Sans sa̍rkarā, SUGAR) +… …   English World dictionary

  • crocodile — ► NOUN 1) a large predatory semiaquatic reptile with long jaws, long tail, short legs, and a horny textured skin. 2) leather made from crocodile skin. 3) Brit. informal a line of schoolchildren walking in pairs. ORIGIN Old French cocodrille, from …   English terms dictionary

  • crocodile — CROCODILE: Imite le cri des enfants pour attirer l homme …   Dictionnaire des idées reçues

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”