gater

or 'ga·ter

[gey-ter]

noun

gator.

gator

or ga·ter, ’ga·ter

[gey-ter]

noun

Southern U.S. Informal. alligator.

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for gater

Historical Examples of gater

E pit one year wey Dog is bin-a bark; 'e pit one eye 'pon B'er 'Gater. '
Nights With Uncle Remus
Joel Chandler Harris
Bum-bye, B'er 'Gater bre't', 'e do come loud; 'e is bin sno' hard! '
Nights With Uncle Remus
Joel Chandler Harris
Bumbye, B'er 'Gater is wek fum 'e dream; 'e smell-a da' smoke, 'e feel-a da' fier. '
Nights With Uncle Remus
Joel Chandler Harris
You bin-a cry fer dey 'quaintun', B'er 'Gater; now you mus' beer wit' dem trouble!'
Nights With Uncle Remus
Joel 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 Remus
Joel Chandler Harris

British Dictionary definitions for gater

gater

noun

a variant of gator

gator

gater

noun

mainly US informal an alligator

Word Origin for gator

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

1844, colloquial shortening of alligator.