Plural of caiman, a large reptile related to crocodiles, found in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
From Spanish 'caimán,' ultimately from Arawakan or Taíno indigenous languages of the Caribbean. Spanish colonists adopted the indigenous term to identify the reptile, and it entered English through colonial contact.
Caimans are the 'friendlier' cousins of crocodiles, so sensitive to touch that researchers can study them in the wild while American alligators would attack—their temperament shaped how indigenous peoples and colonists used and viewed them.
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