crocodile

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkɹɒkədaɪl/ (UK); /ˈkɹɑkədaɪl/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is a 16th-century respelling, after Latin, of inherited from Middle English cokedrille,^[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Old French cocodrille,^[2][3][4][5] from Medieval Latin cocodrillus, an alteration of Latin crocodīlus,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Ancient Greek κροκόδειλος (krokódeilos, “lizard, crocodile”).^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Herodotus says it was an Ionic name for a lizard, transferred to the crocodile of the Nile.^[4][2] The Greek word is often explained as krókē “pebble” and drîlos “worm”, a “worm of the stones”,^[2][5][6] but Beekes rejects this, and Etymonline calls it of unknown origin.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The large amphibious reptile (c. 1300).^[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The crocodile was fabled to weep while luring or devouring its prey,^[7][4] and the story of crocodile tears, for false grief, was known in English from about 1400.^[4][7] The modern spelling dates from 1563.^[3] The name was extended to related reptiles of India and the Americas.^[4] In British colloquial use a crocodile is a line of schoolchildren walking two by two (1891).^[7][5][6]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – the reptile.^[7][3][4]
• c. 1400 – the weeping of the crocodile.^[7][4]
• 1563 – the spelling crocodile.^[3]
• 1595 – a person who weeps hypocritically.^[7]
• 1891 – a file of schoolchildren.^[7]
• 1907 – crocodile skin.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Any of several large, thick-skinned aquatic reptiles of the genus Crocodylus of tropical regions, with long tapering jaws.
2. Any crocodilian, such as an alligator or caiman.
3. Leather made from crocodile skin.
4. (chiefly British) A line of people, especially schoolchildren, walking in pairs.

Word family

• crocodile tears

Related words

• crocodilian
• alligator

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press