avocado

Etymology

First recorded in 1697,^[1][2] borrowed from Spanish avocado, altered by folk etymology after Spanish avocado, an earlier form of abogado “lawyer”,^[3][4] from earlier Spanish aguacate,^[1][5] from Classical Nahuatl āhuacatl (“avocado; testicle”).^[1][4] Spanish abogado “lawyer” is from the same Latin source as advocate.^[6][4]

The English corruption alligator pear is recorded from 1763.^[6]

References

1. [1] [2] [3] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
2. [1] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. [1] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. [1] [2] [3] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. [1] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
6. [1] [2] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com