crocodile

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A large reptile with a long body, powerful jaws, and sharp teeth that lives in and near rivers in hot countries.

   A huge crocodile lay still on the riverbank in the sun.

2. 2
   noun

   A long line of people, especially schoolchildren, walking two by two.

   The class walked to the museum in a neat crocodile.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Crocodile comes from Greek krokodilos, meaning “worm of the stones,” from krokē, “pebble,” and drilos, “worm.” The name refers to the crocodile’s habit of basking in the sun on riverbanks. Medieval English forms included cocodrille and cokadrill.

From Middle English cocodrill, cokadrill, cokedril, from Old French cocodril (modern French crocodile), from Medieval Latin cocodrillus, from Latin crocodilus, from Ancient Greek κροκόδειλος (krokódeilos). The word was later refashioned after the Latin and Greek forms. Doublet of krokodil.

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary