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crocodile definition

croco·dile (kräkə dīl′)

noun

  1. any of a subfamily (Crocodylinae) of large, flesh-eating, lizardlike crocodilian reptiles living in or around tropical streams and having thick, horny skin composed of scales and plates, a long tail, and a long, narrow, triangular head with massive jaws: it has on each side of the lower jaw a large tooth that protrudes upward from its closed mouth
  2. leather made from a crocodile's hide
  3. Brit. a long line of persons, esp. school children, moving in file, as when out for a walk

Etymology: 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 srkarā, sugar) + drilos, worm

Crocodile definition

Crocodile

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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