gater
or 'ga·ter
[gey-ter]
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gator
or ga·ter, ’ga·ter
[gey-ter]
- Southern U.S. Informal. alligator.
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Origin of gator
An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; shortened form
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for gater
Historical Examples
E pit one year wey Dog is bin-a bark; 'e pit one eye 'pon B'er 'Gater. '
Nights With Uncle RemusJoel Chandler Harris
Bum-bye, B'er 'Gater bre't', 'e do come loud; 'e is bin sno' hard! '
Nights With Uncle RemusJoel Chandler Harris
Bumbye, B'er 'Gater is wek fum 'e dream; 'e smell-a da' smoke, 'e feel-a da' fier. '
Nights With Uncle RemusJoel Chandler Harris
You bin-a cry fer dey 'quaintun', B'er 'Gater; now you mus' beer wit' dem trouble!'
Nights With Uncle RemusJoel Chandler Harris
E say 'e mus' git one el'phan' tush, un 'e mus' git one 'gater toof, un 'e mus' git one rice-bud bill.
Nights With Uncle RemusJoel Chandler Harris
gater
- a variant of gator
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gator
gater
- mainly US informal an alligator
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Word Origin
C19
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for gater
gator
n.
1844, colloquial shortening of alligator.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper