Alligate (pronounced al-i-geyt)
To attach; to bind together (obsolete).
1535–1545: As alligāte,
from the Latin alligātus (tied,
bound), past participle of alligāre
& second-person plural present active imperative of alligō (I bind), the construct being al- + lig- (bind) + -ate.
In Latin, the
al- prefix was a euphonic alteration of ad-,
assimilating the D into the initial L of the word the prefix is applied
to. The English form was from the Middle
English al-, from the Old English
eal- & eall- (all-). The
suffix -ate was a word-forming element used in forming nouns from Latin words
ending in -ātus, -āta, & -ātum (such as estate, primate &
senate). Those that came to English via
French often began with -at, but an -e was added in the fifteenth century or
later to indicate the long vowel. It can
also mark adjectives formed from Latin perfect passive participle suffixes of
first conjugation verbs -ātus, -āta,
& -ātum (such as desolate,
moderate & separate). Again, often
they were adopted in Middle English with an –at suffix, the -e appended after
circa 1400; a doublet of –ee. Alligate was a verb, the third-person singular simple
present was alligates, pthe resent participle alligating and the simple past
and past participle alligated. Alligated
was the adjective.
The only word with which alligate might have been
confused was the early thirteenth century allgate
(all of the time, on all occasions (and by mid century "in every way")),
probably from the Old Norse phrase alla
gotu (a way); it picked up the adverbial genitive -s from the late fourteenth
century to become allgates. Fortunately though, both alligate & allgate
are obsolete although alligate does
occasionally appear in literary fiction, something which doubtless delights
some and annoys others.
Alligators and crocodiles
The reptile alligator is a crocodilian in the genus
Alligator of the family Alligatoridae, two species of which remain extant, the American
alligator (A. mississippiensis) and the Chinese (A. sinensis), a number of extinct
species known from the fossil record, the first dating from the Oligocene epoch,
some 37 million years ago. The word alligator
is thought to be an anglicized form of the mid-sixteenth century Spanish el lagarto (the lizard), the construct
being el (the) + lagarto (lizard), from the Vulgar Latin lacertus (lizard), the term adopted by early Spanish explorers in
Florida and reflecting this, the early (an now extinct) spellings in English
included alligater, alligarta, aligarto,
alegarto & alagarto, many
probably the result of transcription from oral sources. It wasn’t until 1807 that the spelling in
English was settled as alligator and that was thought to be influenced by the previously
unrelated Latin alligāte (to attach; to
bind together), those involved in the early taxonomy of zoology and botany
always anxious to maintain a Classical connection. In that it was probably alligāte’s last contribution to English.
Looking very similar to untrained eyes, alligators and
crocodiles are both large, lizard-like reptiles famous for their large,
powerful jaws, sharp teeth, long tails, and skin which varies from the thick
and plated protective covering on the upper body and the softer skin on the
belly, the much sought-after examples being those with the patterns and colours
best suited to handbags, shoes and upholstery.
Alligators tend to be darker and have broader snout and when in the
water, usually lurk under the surface, with only the eyes visible. In contrast, crocodiles typically hold the top
of their head out of the water and a distinguishing physical difference is
visible when the jaws are closed, only the only their upper teeth of an
alligator displayed but both the upper and lower teeth of crocodiles remain exposed
. Alligators now live almost exclusively
in the south-eastern US and eastern China whereas crocodiles are found in the tropical
areas of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Australia. The once common co-habitation of the species in
the wild is now rare but has been documented in southern Florida. Taxonomically, alligators and crocodiles are
not only separate species but belong to
different genera (alligators belong to the genus Alligator, crocodiles belong
to the Crocodylus) but both are of the order Crocodylia, so to refer to them all
as crocodilians is correct, reflecting the divergence long ago from the last
common ancestor (LCA). They behave
differently, crocodiles usually more aggressive than alligators although in
Australia there are the “freshwater crocodiles” which are notably more passive
though the terminology can be dangerously misleading, “saltwater crocodiles” inhabiting
rivers and lakes. Along with birds, they
are the only living descendants of the ancient archosaurs.
The alligator clip
It’s a charming linguistic coincidence that the alligator
clip (which attaches things together), named apparently because of the visual
similarity to the reptile’s jaws, seems also linked to the Latin alligāte (to attach; to bind together). That’s almost certainly not true but, if it
did at the time occur to anyone, it definitely was alligāte’s last contribution to English. Curiously, in some markets they’re called crocodile
clips although internationally, there’s no difference in technical specification
noted between the two and it seems only localized traditions of use which
account for the two names (a la cantaloupe v rock melon, aubergine v eggplant
etc).
Despite that, had the industry wished, product differentiation would have been possible because in the products available, there are variations in design which align with the anatomical variations between the reptiles. There are clips with U shaped and V shaped jaws so they could have been named differently although the manufacturers don’t respect the variations in dental anatomy, both types produced with one or both rows of teeth visible when the jaws are closed and there are specialized clips with one row or none. One noted adaptation is the alligator hairclip with elongated, curved, jaws.
Alligator hair clip.
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