alligator

Where does the word "alligator" come from? It comes from Spanish el lagarto, and was adopted directly into English (1560s).

Alligator’s story begins in Spanish: el lagarto meant “the lizard.” Literally the lizard, what Spanish explorers called the large reptile in the Americas. It reached English by 1560s as alligator. Run together from the Spanish phrase into a single English word. Today, alligator means a large reptile related to the crocodile, native to the Americas and China.

1. Stage 1 · Spanish · 1500s el lagarto "the lizard", literally the lizard, what Spanish explorers called the large reptile in the Americas.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1560s alligator "a large reptile related to the crocodile", run together from the Spanish phrase into a single English word.