Crocodile \Croc"o*dile\ (kr[o^]k"[-o]*d[imac]l; 277), n. [L.
crocodilus, Gr. kroko`deilos: cf. F. crocodile. Cf.
Cookatrice.]
1. (Zool.) A large reptile of the genus Crocodilus, of
several species. They grow to the length of sixteen or
eighteen feet, and inhabit the large rivers of Africa,
Asia, and America. The eggs, laid in the sand, are hatched
by the sun's heat. The best known species is that of the
Nile (Crocodilus vulgaris, or Crocodilus Niloticus).
The Florida crocodile (Crocodilus Americanus) is much
less common than the alligator and has longer jaws. The
name is also sometimes applied to the species of other
related genera, as the gavial and the alligator.
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2. (Logic) A fallacious dilemma, mythically supposed to have
been first used by a crocodile.
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Crocodile bird (Zool.), an African plover (Pluvianus
[ae]gypticus) which alights upon the crocodile and
devours its insect parasites, even entering its open mouth
(according to reliable writers) in pursuit of files, etc.;
-- called also Nile bird. It is the trochilos of
ancient writers.
Crocodile tears, false or affected tears; hypocritical
sorrow; -- derived from the fiction of old travelers, that
crocodiles shed tears over their prey.
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