Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Alligator \Al"li*ga`tor\, n. [Sp. el lagarto the lizard (el
   lagarto de Indias, the cayman or American crocodile), fr. L.
   lacertus, lacerta, lizard. See {Lizard}.]
   1. (Zo["o]l.) A large carnivorous reptile of the Crocodile
      family, peculiar to America. It has a shorter and broader
      snout than the crocodile, and the large teeth of the lower
      jaw shut into pits in the upper jaw, which has no marginal
      notches. Besides the common species of the southern United
      States, there are allied species in South America.

   2. (Mech.) Any machine with strong jaws, one of which opens
      like the movable jaw of an alligator; as,
      (a) (Metal Working) a form of squeezer for the puddle
          ball;
      (b) (Mining) a rock breaker;
      (c) (Printing) a kind of job press, called also {alligator
          press}.

   {Alligator apple} (Bot.), the fruit of the {Anona palustris},
      a West Indian tree. It is said to be narcotic in its
      properties. --Loudon.

   {Alligator fish} (Zo["o]l.), a marine fish of northwestern
      America ({Podothecus acipenserinus}).

   {Alligator gar} (Zo["o]l.), one of the gar pikes
      ({Lepidosteus spatula}) found in the southern rivers of
      the United States. The name is also applied to other
      species of gar pikes.

   {Alligator pear} (Bot.), a corruption of {Avocado pear}. See
      {Avocado}.

   {Alligator snapper}, {Alligator tortoise}, {Alligator turtle}
      (Zo["o]l.), a very large and voracious turtle
      ({Macrochelys lacertina}) inhabiting the rivers of the
      southern United States. It sometimes reaches the weight of
      two hundred pounds. Unlike the common snapping turtle, to
      which the name is sometimes erroneously applied, it has a
      scaly head and many small scales beneath the tail. This
      name is sometimes given to other turtles, as to species of
      {Trionyx}.

   {Alligator wood}, the timber of a tree of the West Indies
      ({Guarea Swartzii}).