A crocodile is a large, powerful reptile with a long snout, sharp teeth, and a strong tail, that lives mostly in rivers and swamps. It is a dangerous predator that can move surprisingly fast in water.
From Greek *krokodilos*, originally used for a kind of lizard, possibly meaning “pebble worm” from *krokē* “pebble” and *drilos* “worm,” maybe describing how it looked on a riverbank. Latin and French passed similar forms into English.
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