Gator

How to spell gator

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce gator

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does gator mean?

1. nounAn informal word for an alligator, the large amphibious reptile.

Gator in a sentence

• The guide warned us that a gator was sunning itself on the riverbank.

• A young gator slipped quietly into the swamp as the boat passed.

Where does gator come from?

Language of origin: Spanish

This is an informal clipping of 'alligator', which itself came from the Spanish phrase 'el lagarto', meaning 'the lizard'. Spanish settlers and explorers in the Americas used 'lagarto' (a descendant of the Latin 'lacertus', lizard) for the large reptiles they encountered, and English speakers ran the article and noun together into 'alligator' during the late 1500s. By the 1800s American speakers, especially in the southern United States, had trimmed the long word down to the breezy 'gator'. The short form spread through hunting, fishing, and later sporting culture, where 'Gators' became a famous team nickname in Florida. The spelling trap is simply that the relaxed pronunciation tempts people toward 'gater', yet the standard ending mirrors the parent word and stays as 'gator'.

How the word is built

• shortened form of alligator (al- from Spanish article
• -ligator from lagarto, lizard); -or kept as a plain ending