Etymo

crocodile

A large aquatic reptile with powerful jaws.

Played on · Day 61 · word 2 of 5

An r that moved and returned

How crocodile reached English

oldest first
  1. Greek

    krokodilos

    ‘lizard, crocodile’

  2. Latin

    crocodilus

  3. Medieval Latin

    cocodrillus

  4. Old French

    cocodrille

  5. Middle English

    cocodrille

  6. English

    crocodile

The story of crocodile

Greek krokodilos became Latin crocodilus. Medieval Latin cocodrillus moves the r; French carried a cocodrille form into Middle English. Modern crocodile reflects a later learned respelling.

French is an intermediary even though it has no separate card here. The popular deeper “pebble-worm” analysis is disputed and is not part of the scored answer.

Sources

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