What is "crocodile"

Crocodile \Croc"o*dile\ (kr[o^]k"[-o]*d[imac]l; 277), n. [L. crocodilus, Gr. kroko`deilos: cf. F. crocodile. Cf. Cookatrice.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) 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.

2. (Logic) A fallacious dilemma, mythically supposed to have been first used by a crocodile.

   Crocodile bird (Zo["o]l.), 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. [1913 Webster] ||

1560s, restored spelling of Middle English cokedrille, kokedrille (c.1300), from Medieval Latin cocodrillus, from Latin crocodilus, from Greek krokodilos, word applied by Herodotus to the crocodile of the Nile, apparently due to its basking habits, from kroke "pebbles" + drilos "worm." The crocodile tears story was in English from at least c.1400.

n. 1 Any of the predatory amphibious reptiles of the family Crocodylidae; (context loosely English) a crocodilian, any species of the order Crocodilia, which also includes the alligators, caimans and gavials. 2 A long line or procession of people (especially children) walking together. 3 (context logic English) A fallacious dilemma, mythically supposed to have been first used by a crocodile.

n. large voracious aquatic reptile having a long snout with massive jaws and sharp teeth and a body covered with bony plates; of sluggish tropical waters

Crocodile or "Krokodil" electric locomotives are so called because they have long "noses" at each end, reminiscent of the snout of a crocodile (see also Steeplecab). These contain the motors and drive axles, and are connected by an articulated center section. The center section usually contains the crew compartments, pantographs and transformer.

The name was first applied to Swiss locomotives. Sometimes the term is applied to locomotives in other countries of a similar design.

A crocodile is a component of a train protection system used in France, Belgium and Luxembourg. It is functionally similar to the Automatic Warning System (AWS) used in United Kingdom.

Communication between the ground-based signalling system and the in-cab equipment is made by the crocodile, an electrical contact placed between the rails (in the four foot way) and a metallic brush mounted beneath the locomotive cab. It is distinctively French, originating on the Chemins de Fer du Nord around 1872, spreading throughout France and penetrating into Belgium and Luxembourg after 1900. It was intended principally to provide evidence of the alertness of the driver, not to act to control a train automatically.

The crocodile is an invention of the engineers Lartigue and Forest. Originally it was placed 100–200 metres in front of a distant signal, usually a red disc of "deferred stop". When recording of cab signals was introduced, the crocodile was moved closer to the signal, often directly opposite it, to reduce the chance of a change of the signal between the time the locomotive passed over the crocodile and when the locomotive actually passed the signal. If a signal changed suddenly to a warning aspect in the face of the driver, it would appear that he had not noticed it and had been surprised, when that was not the case.

The crocodile can send two different pieces of information to the driver, according to the aspect of the corresponding signal:

• The "Répétition Signal Fermé" (which literally means "repetition of closed signal"), corresponding to a warning signal, applies a +20 V voltage to the crocodile causing horn to sound in the driver's cab. Then unless the driver presses a button within five seconds, a penalty brake is applied.
• The "Répétition Signal Ouvert" (which literally means "repetition of opened signal"), corresponding to a cleared signal, applies a -20 V voltage to the crocodile causing a gong to sound in the driver's cab.

A crocodile is a large reptile of the family Crocodylidae.

Crocodile(s), The Crocodile(s) or Le Crocodile may also refer to:

Crocodile is a 1996 South Korean film. It was the directorial debut of Ki-duk Kim and stars Cho Jae-hyun as "Crocodile".

The film tells the story of a man living at the edge of the Han River in Seoul, who saves a woman trying to commit suicide. He then proceeds to rape and abuse her until an odd relationship develops between them.

Crocodiles (subfamily Crocodylinae) or true crocodiles are large aquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Crocodylinae, all of whose members are considered true crocodiles, is classified as a biological subfamily. A broader sense of the term crocodile, Crocodylidae that includes Tomistoma, is not used in this article. The term crocodile here applies only to the species within the subfamily of Crocodylinae. The term is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia, which includes Tomistoma, the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae), the gharials (family Gavialidae), and all other living and fossil Crocodylomorpha.

Although they appear to be similar to the untrained eye, crocodiles, alligators and the gharial belong to separate biological families. The gharial having a narrow snout is easier to distinguish, while morphological differences are more difficult to spot in crocodiles and alligators. The most obvious external differences are visible in the head with crocodiles having narrower and longer heads, with a more V-shaped than a U-shaped snout compared to alligators and caimans. Another obvious trait is that the upper and lower jaws of the crocodiles are the same width, and the teeth in the lower jaw fall along the edge or outside the upper jaw when the mouth is closed; therefore, all teeth are visible unlike an alligator; which possesses small depressions in the upper jaw, into which the lower teeth fit. Also, when the crocodile's mouth is closed, the large fourth tooth in the lower jaw fits into a constriction in the upper jaw. For hard-to-distinguish specimens, the protruding tooth is the most reliable feature to define the family that the species belongs to. Crocodiles have more webbing on the toes of the hind feet and can better tolerate saltwater due to specialized salt glands for filtering out salt, which are present but non-functioning in alligators. Another trait that separates crocodiles from other crocodilians is their much higher levels of aggression.

Crocodile size, morphology, behaviour and ecology somewhat differs between species. However, they have many similarities in these areas as well. All crocodiles are semiaquatic and tend to congregate in freshwater habitats such as rivers, lakes, wetlands and sometimes in brackish water and saltwater. They are carnivorous animals, feeding mostly on vertebrates such as fish, reptiles, birds and mammals, and sometimes on invertebrates such as molluscs and crustaceans, depending on species and age. All crocodiles are tropical species that, unlike alligators, are very sensitive to cold. They separated from other crocodilians during the Eocene epoch, about 55 million years ago. Many species are at the risk of extinction, some being classified as critically endangered.

Crocodile is a 2000 American horror film, directed by Tobe Hooper and released direct-to-video on 26 December 2000. It was followed by a sequel, Crocodile 2: Death Swamp, released in 2002.

"Crocodile" is a song by electronic band Underworld, and was released as a single on September 12, 2007, in Japan first, in order to promote their album Oblivion with Bells.1 On September 5, Underworld released the music video for "Crocodile" on their website. This song, as well as its Oliver Huntemann Remix, is featured in the game FIFA Street 3. The single peaked on the UK Singles Chart at #93.

"Crocodile" is the 2nd episode of season one of Showtime TV series Dexter. The episode centers on the death of a cop, Ricky Simmons, and the Miami Metro Police Department's attempt at bringing in the killer, while Dexter stalks another victim, Matt Chambers, a man who, drunkenly, kills people by running them over.

Crocodile is a 1979–1980 Thai monster movie directed by Sompote Sands.

Crocodile (also read as Shendjw) is the provisional name of a predynastic ruler, who might have ruled during the late Naqada III epoch. The few alleged ink inscriptions showing his name are drawn very sloppily, and the reading and thus whole existence of king "Crocodile" are highly disputed. His tomb is unknown.