† alligatorn.1
Obsolete. rare. Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.
A person who binds or ties something.
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the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > binding or tying > [noun] > binding > one who or that which binds
binderOE
alligator1542
bracement1682
1542 T. Elyot Bibliotheca Alligator, he that byndeth.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Alligator, a Binder or Tyer of the Vines to their Stakes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
alligatorn.2
/ˈalᵻɡeɪtə/, U.S. /ˈæləˌɡeɪdər/α. 1500s alagarta, 1500s alagarto, 1500s aligarta, 1500s aligarto, 1600s alegarto, 1600s alergato, 1600s allagarte, 1600s alligarta.
β. 1500s–1600s allegater, 1600s alegator, 1600s 1800s aligator, 1600s–1700s allegator, 1600s– alligator, 1700s alleygator.
1.
a. Any of various broad-snouted crocodilians constituting the family Alligatoridae, found chiefly in the New World and including the caimans; (now) spec. either of two members of the genus Alligator, of large size, including (more fully American alligator) A. mississippiensis of the south-eastern United States, and the rare A. sinensis of China. Also (in popular use): any New World crocodilian (some of which are true crocodiles, genus Crocodylus).
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the world > animals > reptiles > order Crocodilia (crocodiles and alligators) > [noun] > suborder Eusuchia > family Alligatoridae > member of (alligator)
cayman1577
lagarto1577
alligator1591
'gator1844
1555 R. Eden in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde fol. 58 It nooryshethe greate lysardes whiche in the Spanysshe toonge are cauled Lagartos [Sp. lagartos hispana lingua, latine lacertos].
1577 J. Frampton tr. N. Monardes Three Bookes ii. f. 73v Caimanes, that are called Lagartos [Sp. Caymanes, que llaman Lagartos].]
1591 A. Knivet in S. Purchas Pilgrimes (1625) IV. 1228 Aligartos (which we call in English crocodiles).
1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet v. i. 43 In the same an Aligarta [1599 allegater] hangs. View more context for this quotation
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. i. vii. §10. 113 The Crocodiles (now called Alegartos).
1622 R. Hawkins Observ. Voiage South Sea l. 122 In this River, and all the Rivers of this coast, are great abundance of Alagartoes.
1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre ii. vi. 28 in Wks. II Who can tell, if..the Alligarta hath not piss'd thereon?
1661 A. Cowley Vision Cromwell 59 He must have his prey of the whole Indies both by Sea and Land, this great Aligator.
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World ix. 256 We found no Allegators here, though there are several.
1757 Crit. Rev. Sept. 207 The chief difference between this animal, and the American alligator, consists in the narrowness of the beak or chops.
1789 R. Norris Journey to Court of Bossa Ahádee in Mem. Reign Bossa Ahádee (1968) 125 An alligator muzzled, and a couple of pigeons, with their wings clipped, are thrown off the stage among the crowd.
1824 W. Irving Tales of Traveller II. 254 Like alligators sleeping in the mire.
1851 De Bow's Rev. July 52 The most prominent is the Alligator, or American Crocodile, sometimes called Lacerta Alligator.
1880 S. Haughton Six Lect. Physical Geogr. iii. 82 The alligator thrives in the neighbourhood of New Orleans.
1908 M. Mayo Polly of Circus ii. 50 The big alligator raised up on his front legs and opened his big, big mouth.
1931 Good Housek. (U.S. ed.) Dec. 204/2 Bud was in the middle of a long bear story, when suddenly he stopped talking, and I saw dead ahead of us..a ten-foot alligator.
1990 D. Ackerman Nat. Hist. Senses ii. 92 One often sees an American alligator in a Floridian swamp arranging itself in the sun.
2007 Wired Oct. 46/1 Pretend an alligator just bit off your arm. Now scream.
b. Alligator skin or material resembling this; (also in plural) shoes of (imitation) alligator skin. Cf. Compounds 2.
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society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > skin or hide > [noun] > skins of other animals
bear-hide?c1225
russwale1336
roan skin1446
rabbit skin1760
zebra skin1774
kangaroo-skin1777
rack1805
alligator1877
ocelot1903
crocodile1907
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > footwear > shoe or boot > shoe > [noun] > types of > made from specific material > skin or hide > other > shoes
alligator1877
patents1904
1877 Georgia Weekly Tel. 26 June 8/6 It's too hot to wear alligator now.
1879 Golden Hours Nov. 519/2 What are the largest shoes in the world? Why, Alligators, of course.
1905 T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Fall–Winter 180/1 Buff alligator, inside frame, moire silk lined,..colors tan, brown, blue and green.
1952 Creative Footwear Mar. 24/1 Easter footwear for women is already being sold, and the shell pump in alligator.
1991 Business Life May 27/1 One shelf up was a collection of classic beauty cases, also in alligator.
2007 J. Leiber & M. Stoller Hound Dog 50 The alligators are $15, perhaps due to the warped soles and sun-faded color.
2. U.S. A tough frontiersman, esp. a boatman on the Ohio or Mississippi. Cf. alligator horse n. at Compounds 4, half horse and half alligator at half horse n.2 Additions Now chiefly historical.
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1808 C. Schultz Let. 13 Apr. in Trav. (1810) II. 145 I am an alligator; half man, half horse; can whip any on the Mississippi by G-d.
1837 R. M. Bird Nick of Woods II. 246 He..launched his broad-horn on the narrow bosom of the Salt, and was soon afterwards transformed into a Mississippi alligator.
1862 T. Winthrop Canoe & Saddle iii. 49 Enterprising fellows have climbed both [mountains]; but the millions of Yankees—from codfish to alligators—..know little of these treasures of theirs.
1945 W. D. Le Sueur North Star County 248 I'm the toughest goldarned alligator in the North Woods.
3. North American colloquial. A rough, lean hog. Also attributive as alligator hog, alligator pig. Cf. razorback n. 1c. Now chiefly historical.
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1841 Cultivator Sept. 152/1 I am anxious that he [sc. the farmer] should soon get rid of his..alligators at such prices as will enable him to buy a better breed.
1852 New Eng. Cultivator Feb. 38/1 At the head of this article, you have a portrait of the old style ‘alligator-hog’,..a tall, gaunt, long, coarse-haired beast.
1880 Rep. Commissioners (Ontario Agric. Commission) 336 (caption) The racer or alligator pig.
2001 J. W. Dohner Encycl. Hist. & Endangered Livestock & Poultry Breeds 171/2 The common sandy, brown, or black pig was a rangy, tough, and self-sufficient hog known by many nicknames: razorback,..prairie racer, alligator hog,..woodshog, and many more.
4.
a. Metallurgy. A machine or device for squeezing or squashing metal (such as rivets, or (now historical) metal from a furnace) between two powered jaws. Usually attributive.
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1856 Mining Mag. Jan. 79 The melting iron is taken out of the furnace in lumps of about four hundred and fifty pounds..and thrown into the rotary squeezers, or alligator squeezers (as the case may be).
1884 W. H. Greenwood Steel & Iron 301 The single alligator or crocodile squeezer has two broad flat jaws.
1954 Riveting of Aluminium (Aluminium Federation Bull. 8) (1965) 18 Two common types of portable power squeezers that may be used manually are the alligator jaw and the C yoke.
2005 C. C. Onyemelukwe Sci. Econ. Devel. & Growth viii. 288/1 Use of the hammer was eliminated by the alligator and rotary types of squeezers.
b. Mining. A machine for crushing rock between powered jaws. Usually attributive. Now rare.
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1870 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining xviii. 125 The alligator-jaw crushers, from which so much was hoped, while they failed in superseding the battery, proved extremely useful as an adjunct to it.
1873 R. W. Raymond Silver & Gold iv. 283 An alligator-crusher of some kind, ran a short time and broke the machinery, which has never been repaired.
1947 Queensland Govt. Mining Jrnl. Dec. 408/2 An alligator containing a sill was being hauled up a few feet to prepare for unloading when the alligator tipped over on its side.
1970 Mining Jrnl. 27 Feb. 177/3 In the upper part of the housing is an alligator crusher, which can be driven either by electricity or by compressed air.
c. North American (chiefly Canadian) Forestry. A type of flat-bottomed steam-powered paddle boat, used esp. for towing log booms, that can be winched across land from one body of water to another. Also attributive as alligator boat, alligator tug. Now chiefly historical.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > mechanically propelled vessels > [noun] > propelled by steam engine > other steam vessels
steam dredger1801
steam barge1812
steam hopper1812
steam-launch1812
steam schooner1812
steam-yacht1812
steam-tug1835
pleasure steamer1839
tug-steamer1861
ditcher1877
alligator1884
turnabout1885
tank-steamer1889
whaleback1891
whalebacker1891
1884 A. H. Campbell in Handbk. Canada iii. iii. 303 A boat called an alligator, from its amphibious character, is often used. It is..equipped with paddle wheels and a powerful windlass driven by an engine.
1906 Every Where Feb. 369/1 ‘Alligator-boats’ carry an anchor and cable: and when water falls, can be hauled by their steam from one anchorage to another.
1942 L. D. Rich We took to Woods vii. 186 Alligators are built like barges, flat and rectangular, but they have a huge steel cable running from a winch in the bow.
1975 J. Gould Maine Lingo 34 The alligator would be rowed out ahead of the boom of logs and anchored.
2010 H. B. Barrett & C. F. Coons Alligators of North 87 They purchased the Scott timber limits and the two Alligator tugs, but leased the Lakefield sawmill.
d. Military. Any of various types of amphibious vehicles used for transporting troops and equipment.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > [noun] > amphibious
amphibian1920
alligator1940
1940 Sun (Baltimore) 26 Nov. 11/4 The novel feature of the ‘alligators’ is that they depend on the same equipment for traction on land or water.
1944 Hutchinson's Pict. Hist. War, 27 Oct. 1943–11 Apr. 1944 189/2 Then the troops were disembarked from the transports into new and improved types of amphibious armoured vehicles, including Alligators and Buffaloes.
1973 G. Jukes Soviet Union in Asia 81 A Soviet ‘Alligator’ class landing craft, laden with marines and stores.
1990 M. Dewar Day in Life Brit. Army 88 The M2, or Alligator as it is known in West German service, is a vehicle the size of an average forty-five seater passenger coach, and is essentially a self-propelled bridging pontoon.
2006 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 21 Aug. (Clearwater Times section) 5 He assisted in the development of the ‘Alligator,’ an amphibious vehicle used in the Pacific during the war.
5.
a. U.S. slang. A devotee of swing music, esp. one who does not play an instrument. Now historical and rare.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > music appreciation > music lover > [noun] > of jazz
jazzbo1917
jazzer1917
jazzophile1926
cat1932
alligator1936
hepcat1937
hipcat1937
jitterbug1937
hepster1938
hipster1938
hippie1948
1936 Delineator Nov. 10/2 You are there as an alligator, so don't applaud.
1939 Collier's 8 Apr. 9/2 It's this jive, hep-cat, alligator, jitterbug craze—this swing mania!
1943 N.Y. Times 9 May ii. 5/5 The alligators started to fall in at the crack of dawn.
1981 A. O'Day High Times Hard Times (2007) 78 An alligator is a jive term that was coined by Cab Calloway in the 1930s. His definition of an alligator is a person who listens to music, follows music, but doesn't play an instrument.
b. colloquial (originally U.S.). see you later, alligator and variants. A catchphrase used on parting.Popularized by Bobby Charles' 1955 song ‘See you Later, Alligator’. The expected response is ‘In (or after) a while, crocodile.’
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the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > courteous formulae [phrase] > expressions of leave-taking > for temporary absence
I'll see youa1569
au revoir1694
hasta la vista1835
olive oil1880
tot siens1937
T.T.F.N.1948
see you later, alligator1954
1954 Reno (Nevada) Gaz. 16 Feb. 4/7 See you later, alligator: meaning good-bye.
1955 R. C. Guidry See you Later, Alligator (MS) 1 See you later, alligator, After 'while, crocodile;... Don't you know you cramp my style?
1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren ii. 17 Lines of current dance songs become catch phrases..‘See you later, alligator’—‘In a while, crocodile’, repeated ad nauseam in 1956.
1978 J. Wambaugh Black Marble v. 67 Giving Tyrone McGee a chance to grin malevolently..and say, ‘Catch you later, alligator’.
1995 M. Behr Smell of Apples (1996) 113 Before Gloria walks off, she turns to me and says: ‘Well..check you later, alligator’.
2007 A. Agar Queensland Ringer xxxix. 224 Eric turned to Johnny and held out his hand... ‘See you later, alligator.’ Johnny grinned. ‘In a while, crocodile.’
Phrases
slang (chiefly U.S.). up to one's ass (also ears, armpits, etc.) in alligators: in a difficult, dangerous, or chaotic situation; beset by problems or demands. when you're up to your ass in alligators, it's hard to remember that you're there to drain the swamp and variants: urgent problems have a tendency to divert attention from the pursuit of more important strategic goals. Cf. to drain the swamp at swamp n. Additions.
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1964 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Tribune 17 Feb. (Home ed.) a1/3 Our war in Viet Nam brings a new lingo... If a man gets in hot water, he's in ‘deep trouble’. If he's in real deep trouble, he's ‘up to his ears in alligators’.
1970 Atchison (Kansas) Globe 9 Mar. 7/5 When you are up to your neck in alligators, it is difficult to remind yourself that your initial objective was to drain the swamp.
1982 Washington Post 21 Jan. a2/5 He [sc. President Reagan] praised their work and told them they must keep up the fight against big government: ‘When you're up to your armpits in alligators it's sometimes hard to remember that you're here to drain the swamp.’
1984 A. Smith in G. Ursell More Saskatchewan Gold iii. i. 275 We were up to our eyeballs in alligators, so Joe Tschepurny never had time to go over Ramesh's model in detail before we sent it off.
2004 New Yorker 3 May 69/1 I'm up to my ass in alligators at the moment.
Compounds
C1. General attributive (in sense 1).
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1764 Mod. Part Universal Hist. XLI. 329 Tabago..contains numbers of armadilloes, guanoes, which are of the alligator-kind;..and badgers.
1785 Probationary Odes for Laureatship 40 Shall I heed the River's scaly train? Afric, I scorn thy Alligator band!
1821 S. F. Austin Jrnl. 6 Sept. in Texas Hist. Assoc. Q. (1904) Apr. 300 Found another Karanqua encamp at which was..Alligator heads and the skins of Alligator Gars.
1853 A. R. Wallace Trav. Amazon iv. 100 After breakfast the overseer commenced the alligator-hunt.
1883 ‘M. Twain’ Life on Mississippi (1900) xxiii. 179 All the Government shoes are made of alligator hide.
1900 H. L. Keeler Our Native Trees 334 It has a fine-checked, ‘alligator-skin’ appearance.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 1361 It is still quaint to read of ‘alligator farms’. It seems that there is one such farm in Florida with six thousand ‘head’ of alligator.
1954 Life 29 Mar. 43 The explorers..sat down to a repast of alligator eggs and yak, walrus and rattlesnake meat.
1981 H. W. Bowden Amer. Indians & Christian Missions (1985) i. 12 Shark and alligator teeth from Florida decorated the important dead.
2006 A. G. van der Valk Biol. Freshwater Wetlands iv. 82 Alligators..create depressions, alligator holes, which are often important refugia for..other aquatic organisms.
C2. Originally U.S. attributive, with the sense ‘made of alligator skin or material resembling this’.
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society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > skin or hide > [adjective] > made of skin or hide of specific animals
buckskin1565
buffle1577
sheepskin1602
oxhide?1609
goatskin?1614
hogskin1658
cowhide1823
goat1833
parfleche1845
shagreened1847
pigskin1855
alligator1861
lizard-skin1895
parfleched1940
1861 P. L. Simmonds in Technologist 1 147 Alligator boots! What next, in the name of wonder?
1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 104. 252/2 Fine alligator club bag, made of selected goat skin.
1922 B. Atkey Winnie O'Wynn & Wolves iv. 28 She carried a grey, gold-mounted soft alligator bag.
1950 ‘N. Shute’ Town like Alice vii. 202 The only work she really knew about was fancy leather goods, alligator shoes and handbags and attaché cases.
1984 Ebony Dec. 141/2 (caption) Note the genuine alligator hat and scarf piped in mink.
2005 T. Hall Salaam Brick Lane i. 2 He'd opted for a pair of Levis and alligator cowboy boots.
C3. Originally U.S. attributive. Designating a device or apparatus resembling in form or action the jaws of an alligator. Cf. sense 4.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > clutching or gripping equipment > [adjective] > other specific types
forcipal1658
alligator1868
orange peel1905
1868 New-Orleans Commerc. Bull. 9 June 4/1 Fassmann's Celebrated Alligator Tie.
1920 Pop. Sci. Monthly June 123/1 (caption) This new style homemade alligator wrench affords a tight grip on the bolt or pipe.
2009 R. Olmstead Far Bright Star 110 He..jumped down with a pair of alligator pliers.
C4.
alligator apple n. = pond apple n. at pond n. Compounds 2.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > yielding drug or narcotic > [noun] > alligator apple tree or fruit
monkey apple1750
alligator apple1756
1756 P. Browne Civil & Nat. Hist. Jamaica 256 (heading) The alligator apple tree, or cork-wood.
1893 Columbus (Ohio) Hort. Soc. Jrnl. 8 20 The alligator apple is a small tree of the custard apple family.
1903 Agric. Bull. Straits & Federated Malay States 5 411 Around Belize town, the ripe Alligator Apple is greedily eaten by the natives..without any evil consequences whatever.
2004 Palm Beach Post (Florida) (Nexis) 15 Feb. 7 h Guides..will get you to taste alligator apples (not bad if you like turpentine).
alligator clip n. chiefly U.S. a sprung clip with two tapered, serrated jaws; = crocodile clip n. at crocodile n. Additions.
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1935 Pop. Sci. July 53/2 Alligator clips can be obtained plain or with an insulating overshoe.
1977 W. Gibson Burning Chrome (1986) 51 He used patch cords, miniature alligator clips, and black tape to wire the inducer to a battery-operated ASP deck.
1991 J. Allen Biosphere Two 27 For medical safety he wore an alligator-clip on his finger when he slept which read both pulse and the level of dissolved oxygen in his bloodstream.
2000 M. Ondaatje Anil's Ghost 74 He..picked up the alligator-clip lamp—the one source of focussed bright light here—and walked with it..to a cupboard at the far end of the deep room.
alligator fish n. (a) U.S. a gar of the family Lepisosteidae; esp. the alligator gar, Atractosteus spatula; (b) any of various small, elongated, bottom-dwelling fishes of the family Agonidae, found in cold northern waters and having large pectoral fins and an armour of bony plates; esp. Aspidophoroides monopterygius of the north-west Atlantic; cf. poacher n.1 3.
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1805 Philadelphia Med. & Physical Jrnl. 2 47 The Fish are the following, viz. Silurus Catus.., the Gar-fish (Esox osseus), Buffaloe and Alligator-fish.
1882 D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert Synopsis Fishes N. Amer. 730 P[odothecus] acipenserinus (Tiles.) Gill.—Alligator fish. Brown with darker marblings and narrow vertical streaks.
1905 D. S. Jordan Guide Study of Fishes II. xxv. 449 The sea-poachers or alligator-fishes, Agonidæ, are sculpins enclosed in a coat of mail.
1969 Copeia No. 1. 201/2 A larval alligator fish, Aspidophoroides monopterygius Bloch, was collected at Fort Point Cove, Maine..in Penobscot River estuary.
2003 A. Schmidt Chef's Bk. Formulas, Yields, & Sizes (ed. 3) 56/2 Gar, Alligator Fish. Fish with heavy, bony scales, sometimes used in jewelry. The flesh of large fish is tough.
alligator forceps n. Surgery forceps with small toothed jaws at the tip that are typically sharply angled, used esp. to extract calculi and foreign bodies.
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1874 Trans. Med. Soc. New Jersey 303 One of the fragments was seized with the alligator forceps in the beginning of the membranous urethra.
1965 Sci. News Let. 25 Mar. 200/2 A large alligator forceps was used to remove the beetles in the ears of the first five boys.
2005 M. L. Corman Colon & Rectal Surg. (ed. 5) viii. 189/1 Figure 8-15 shows an anal canal in which the ligator and alligator forceps have been inserted.
alligator gar n. a large gar, Atractosteus spatula (family Lepisosteidae), the largest freshwater fish of North America, whose elongated snout and large teeth resemble those of an alligator.
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the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > subclass Actinopterygii > [noun] > infraclass Neopterygii > division Holostei or Halecostomi > member of family Lepisosteidae
bony pike1795
alligator gar1820
alligator-gar1843
diamond fish1854
1820 C. S. Rafinesque Ohio River Fishes 73 This fish bears..the names of..Alligator Gar, Alligator fish, Jack or Gar Pike, &c.
1834 Southern Lit. Messenger Nov. 121/2 To crown the whole, there is an anomalous species called the alligator-garr.
1931 E. G. Boulenger Fishes vi. 69 The American Alligator Gar (Lepisosteus tristocchus ) attains a length of fourteen feet.
2009 Guardian 5 Dec. (Guide Suppl.) 86/3 Jeremy Wade travels to Texas on a hunt to reveal the truth about the alligator gar, an aggressive species of fish.
alligator horse n. U.S. regional (now historical) a boatman on the Ohio or Mississippi river, esp. one from Kentucky; = half horse and half alligator at half horse n.2 AdditionsSo called because they were reputed to combine the aquatic skills, cunning, and brute strength of these animals.
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1826 S. Woodworth Melodies 221 We'll show him that Kentucky boys are ‘alligator horses’.
1938 P. Crawford Hello, Boat! 7 What would a flatboat man do on a keelboat? I'm no alligator-horse.
1945 W. D. Le Sueur North Star County 248 His crew were often tough men—‘alligator horses’—of short lives and violent ends.
2002 T. McIntyre Seasons & Days 186 The Kentucky keelboatmen who steered their cargoes of tobacco and livestock down the mighty Mississippi to New Orleans blustered about being ‘alligator-horses’.
alligator juniper n. U.S. a juniper, Juniperus deppeana, of the south-western United States and Mexico which has rough bark with a scale-like appearance.
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1897 G. B. Sudworth Nomencl. Arborescent Flora U.S. 98 Alligator Juniper (Ariz.).
1920 Official Handbk. Boys (Boy Scouts of America) (22) 181 The most easily recognized of all junipers is the alligator juniper..which has thick, sharply checkered bark.
2002 Arizona Highways Oct. 10 A couple of the hills are round, and mostly treeless..apart from the occasional alligator juniper rattling its branches against the wind.
alligator lizard n. any of various American lizards that resemble an alligator in some way.The name is given to medium-sized, slow-moving lizards of the genera Elgaria and Gerrhonotus (family Anguidae), of North America and Mexico, and (now rarely) to fence lizards of the genus Sceloporus (family Phrynosomatidae).
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1882 H. C. Yarrow Check List N. Amer. Reptilia & Batrachia 10 Sceloporus undulatus undulatus (Harlan) Cope. Alligator Lizard... Sceloporus consobrinus Baird and Girard. Marcy's Alligator Lizard.
1897 J. van Denburgh Reptiles Pacific Coast 107 Like the following species (G[errhonotus] burnettii), the Alligator Lizard is ovoviviparous.
1922 H. P. Löding Prelim. Catal. Alabama Reptiles & Amphibians 23 Sceloporus undulatus (Latreille) Wiegmann. Fence Lizard, Common Swift, Alligator Lizard.
1953 H. S. Zim & H. M. Smith Reptiles & Amphibians ii. 66 Alligator lizards, named for their shape and heavy scales, are slow, dull-colored, solitary.
2000 Nature Conservancy Jan. 9/1 The turned log exposes a Madrean alligator lizard.
alligator pear n. an avocado.
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the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > stone fruit > [noun] > avocado
alligator pear1696
avocado1697
aguacate1758
marrow1763
butter fruit1902
butter pear1947
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular types of fruit > [noun] > stone fruit > avocado
shell-pear1672
alligator pear1696
avocado1697
vegetable marrow1788
subaltern's butter1816
midshipman's butter1866
Holy Ghost pear1886
1696 H. Sloane Catal. Plantarum in Jamaica 186 The Avocado or Allegator Pear-tree.
1764 J. Grainger Sugar-cane i. 8 The avocato, avocado, avigato, or, as the English corruptly call it, alligator-pear.
1817 J. Williamson Med. & Misc. Observ. W. India Islands I. 84 Wormy complaints are common, on account of the improper use of fruit, not yet ripened, such as the avocado or alligator pear.
1930 Z. Fitzgerald in Sat. Evening Post 17 May 118/4 I spent most of my time in my room, washing down quantities of spring onions and alligator pears with California Bordeaux.
2010 San Francisco Chron. (Nexis) 8 Aug. k1 Main courses included a griddled trout $17 with an alligator pear and smoky corn relish that covered the bottom of the plate.
alligator pepper n. the capsules or aromatic seeds of the West African plant Aframomum melegueta (family Zingiberaceae), used in some cultures either whole or as a powder to make a hot and pungent spice; also called grains of paradise; cf. malagueta n.
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1851 Church Missionary Intelligencer Feb. 52/1 It [sc. the kola nut] is generally chewed alone; but people who can afford it join with it ginger, alligator pepper, or cardamom seeds.
1958 C. Achebe Things fall Apart i. 3 Unoka..returned with a small wooden disc containing a kola nut, some alligator pepper and a lump of white chalk.
1992 A. H. Apter Black Critics & Kings viii. 186 Alligator pepper is valued for making one's speech ‘hot’ and efficacious.
2006 C. N. Adichie Half Yellow Sun (2007) iv. 91 Ugwu..worked mechanically, serving kola nuts and alligator pepper, uncorking bottles, shovelling ice.
alligator snapper n. = alligator snapping turtle n.
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the world > animals > reptiles > order Chelonia (turtles and tortoises) > [noun] > suborder Cryptodira > family Chelydridae > macrochelys temminckii
alligator snapper1876
alligator snapping turtle1882
1876 D. S. Jordan Man. Vertebr. Northern U.S. 167 Macrochelys, Gray. Alligator Snappers.
1953 H. S. Zim & H. M. Smith Reptiles & Amphibians i. 25 Alligator snapper is the largest fresh-water turtle.
2001 New Scientist 8 Sept. 31/3 Alligator snappers are tough, able to break broomsticks in a single snap of their jaws.
alligator snapping turtle n. an aggressive snapping turtle of the south-eastern United States, Macroclemys temminckii, the largest freshwater turtle of North America, which has a large head and rows of spikes on the carapace.
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the world > animals > reptiles > order Chelonia (turtles and tortoises) > [noun] > suborder Cryptodira > family Chelydridae > macrochelys temminckii
alligator snapper1876
alligator snapping turtle1882
1882 H. C. Yarrow Check List N. Amer. Reptilia & Batrachia 5 Macrochelys Lacertina (Schweigger) Cope. Alligator Snapping Turtle; ‘Caoune’.
1989 C. R. Wilson & W. Ferris Encycl. Southern Culture 325/2 The alligator snapping turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in the world.
2002 G. M. Eberhart Mysterious Creatures I. 39/1 The Alligator snapping turtle (Macroclemys temminckii ) reportedly grows to a maximum weight of 400 pounds.
alligator terrapin n. now rare = alligator turtle n.
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the world > animals > reptiles > order Chelonia (turtles and tortoises) > [noun] > suborder Cryptodira > family Chelydridae > chelydra serpentina (alligator terrapin)
torup1613
snapping-turtle1784
alligator terrapin1832
1832 T. P. Thomas Geogr. S. Carolina 132 Of the shell kind are, the soft back turtle, the aligator-terrapin or snapper, box, yellow-belly, and stinking-terrapin, and cray fish.
1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 458 The family of Chelydridæ includes freshwater tortoises, which are known under the names of Snappers or Alligator Terrapins.
1975 A. Kolodny Lay of Land iv. 125 His virtually incessant appetite is always and easily satisfied by frogs, fish, and alligator terrapin.
alligator tortoise n. = alligator turtle n.
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the world > animals > reptiles > order Chelonia (turtles and tortoises) > [noun] > suborder Cryptodira > family Chelydridae > member of (snapping-turtle)
snapping tortoise1784
snapper1796
alligator turtle1798
alligator tortoise1801
1801–2 F. M. Daudin Histoire Naturelle des Reptiles II. 101 La tortue serpentine est nommée dans la Caroline alligator tortoise (tortue alligator).
1827 R. Harlan Genera North Amer. Reptilia 81 Chelonura serpentina... Vulgo, Snapping turtle, or Logger-head, of the middle states. Alligator tortoise, of the southern states.
1907 Badminton Mag. July 34 We added to our bag a number of flying squirrels, a black iguana, and a curious, ungainly creature known as the alligator tortoise.
1997 Independent (Nexis) 13 Aug. 18 Frankfurt police captured a 25-kg alligator tortoise that had been terrorising the city's sunbathers on the banks of the river Main.
alligator turtle n. (a) either of the two North American snapping turtles (family Chelydridae), which have long crested tails resembling that of an alligator; esp. the common snapping turtle of eastern North America, Chelydra serpentina, which has a long neck and a ridged carapace; (b) = alligator snapping turtle n.
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the world > animals > reptiles > order Chelonia (turtles and tortoises) > [noun] > suborder Cryptodira > family Chelydridae > member of (snapping-turtle)
snapping tortoise1784
snapper1796
alligator turtle1798
alligator tortoise1801
1798 in W. Dunbar Life, Lett. & Papers (1930) 92 One of them is called the Alligator Turtle on account of his overgrown head and tail being covered with a species of scales resembling those which form the armour of the Crocodile.
1842 J. E. De Kay Zool. N.-Y. iii. 8 The Snapping Turtle..is one of our largest turtles... In other sections, it is known under the names of Logger-head, Alligator Turtle and Couta.
1874 S. Tenney & A. A. Tenney Nat. Hist. Animals (ed. 7) p. xi (table) Macroclemmys or Alligator Turtle.
1905 A. Sedgwick Student's Text-bk. Zool. II. 413 Chelydra..the snapping turtle, edible. Macroclemmys..allitagor-turtle.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 770 Among the worst of bites must be ranked those of some of the turtles, like the snapping turtle.., and the alligator turtle of the Mississippi, which can bite off a piece of plank more than an inch thick.
2009 Harris County Jrnl. (Nexis) 29 Oct. He then read a poem about the alligator turtle, observed in the creek on his farm.
alligator wood n. (a) the timber of the West Indian tree Guarea glabra (sometimes called G. guidonia; family Meliaceae), which has a musky smell supposedly resembling that of an alligator; (also) the tree itself; also called muskwood; (b) the fine-grained timber of the tree Liquidambar styraciflua (family Altingiaceae) of North and Central America, used in construction and for making furniture; (also) the tree itself.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular timber trees or shrubs > non-British timber trees > [noun] > of South America or West Indies
sweetwood1607
mastic1657
acajou1666
bastard locust tree1670
bastard locust tree1670
alligator wood1696
muskwood1696
lancewood1697
rodwood1716
cog-wood1725
soapwood1733
down tree?1740
pigeon plum1743
break-axe tree1756
horse-wood1756
loblolly whitewood1756
Spanish elm1756
trumpet-tree1756
ahuehuete1778
ocote1787
locust tree1795
Madeira wood1796
peroba1813
roble1814
louro1816
cecropia1824
purple heart1825
wallaba1825
trumpet-wood1836
gumbo-limbo1837
poui1838
quebracho1839
snake-wood1843
yacca1843
horseflesh wood1851
necklace tree1858
Honduras rosewood1860
turanira1862
softwood1864
wattle-wood1864
balsa tree1866
primavera1871
rauli1874
lemon-wood1879
wheel-tree1882
Spanish stopper1883
gurgeon-stopper1884
pinkwood-tree1884
stopper1884
sloth-tree1885
imbaubaa1893
Spanish cedar1907
amarant1909
Parana pine1916
imbuya1919
mastic-bully1920
banak1921
timbo1924
becuiba1934
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood of specific trees > [noun] > other woods of West Indies and Central America
guaiacum1533
guaiac1558
lignum vitae1594
sweetwood1607
green ebony1665
princewoodc1665
alligator wood1696
pimento wood1712
greenheart1719
mahoea1726
galimeta-wood1756
determa1769
bullet-wood1843
cocobolo1849
lancewood1858
silver-balli1858
yari-yari1858
Honduras rosewood1860
sabicu1866
amarant1909
1696 H. Sloane Catal. Plantarum in Jamaica 137 Alleygator or Musk-wood.
1725 H. Sloane Voy. Islands II. ii. 24 Alleygator or Musk-Wood..The Smell [of the trunk] is sweet like Musk, or that of an Alleygator, whence the name.
1881 Harper's Young People 1 Nov. 12/2 The outer border is composed of the burs of the liquid-amber tree (‘alligator wood’), with corners of pine cones.
1920 W. Fawcett & A. B. Rendle Flora Jamaica IV. 215 Musk Wood, Alligator Wood, Wild Akee..All parts of the tree, especially the bark, have a strong smell of musk.
1955 E. Manio & F. Howard Ornamental Trees 50/1 Liquidambar styraciflua... Sweet Gum; Red Gum; Alligator Wood.
2006 Calgary (Alberta) Herald (Nexis) 17 June g3 Carved from alligator wood, an intricately detailed statue of a Balinese dancer has a honey-toned, ivory-like surface.
alligator weed n. an aquatic plant, Alternanthera philoxeroides, with small white flowers on long stems, native to South America but introduced elsewhere and often regarded as an invasive weed; cf. alternanthera n.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > aquatic, marsh, and sea-shore plants > [noun] > other aquatic plants
sea-purslane1548
frog-bit1578
heartwort1578
milkwort1578
water dragon1578
water-liverwort1578
water milfoil1578
water milfoil1578
water radish1578
arrowhead1597
saltwort1597
water archer1597
calla1601
water-rocket1605
sea rocket1611
water archer1617
water chickweed1633
water purslane1633
arsesmart1640
water hyssop1653
water thyme1655
water serpent1659
Myriophyllum1754
least water plantain1756
mud-weed1756
Thalia1756
water-leaf1756
marsh liverwort1760
bastard plantain1762
wool-weed1765
Ruppia1770
goat's foot1773
pipewort1776
blinking chickweed1777
mudwort1789
arrowleaf1805
water-target1814
water willow1814
felwort1816
water shield1817
mermaid weed1822
mud plantain1822
hydrilla1824
blinks1835
crystalwort1846
naiad1846
waterwort1846
arrow weed1848
willow-thorn1857
lattice leaf1866
marsh flower1866
bonnet1869
lattice plant1877
sea-ash1884
alligator weed1887
water parsley1891
water hyacinth1897
lirio1926
neverwet1927
1887 Amer. Settler 16 Apr. 21/4 Bad grasses are the bane of the rice planter, the worst of which is the red root and alligator weed.
1942 Geogr. Rev. 32 83 Alligator weed..resembles water hyacinth in many ways.
1974 Nature 30 Aug. 704/1 Alligator weed..is spreading rapidly in the rivers and canals of eastern Australia.
2005 J. Diamond Collapse (2006) xii. 368 The alligator weed that was introduced from Brazil as pig forage..escaped to infest gardens, sweet potato fields, and citrus groves.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.11542
n.21591- neck hackle
- neck herring
- neck hold
- neck iron
- neck joint
- neck lock
- neck moulding
- neck of the woods
- neck of timber
- neck oil
- neck opening
- neck or nothing
- neck or nought
- neck ornament
- neck over head
- neck part
- neck pillow
- neck pit
- neck rein
- neck reining
- neck ribbon
- neck ring
- neck rope
- neck rot
- neck scarf