gavial
Britishnoun
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a large fish-eating Indian crocodilian, Gavialis gangeticus, with a very long slender snout: family Gavialidae
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a SE Asian crocodile, Tomistoma schlegeli, similar to but smaller than the gavial
Etymology
Origin of gavial
C19: from French, from Hindi ghariyāl
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The only non-caiman was a gavial resembling modern ones in India, with a long, thin snout for fish-catching.
From Reuters ● Feb. 24, 2015
C. cataphractus is the common crocodile of West Africa, easily recognised by the slender snout which resembles that of the gavial, but the mandibular symphysis does not reach beyond the eighth tooth.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 6 "Coucy-le-Château" to "Crocodile" by Various
The huge reptile which threatened Helen’s safety was twenty feet in length, but the gavial sometimes attains the extraordinary dimensions of eight to nine yards.
From The Castaways by Lolbran Pearse
A keen craving for animal food had grown upon them, and they were not without some regretful thoughts at having permitted the dead gavial to drift out to sea.
From The Castaways by Lolbran Pearse
On seeing the gavial as it started toward the girl, he had quickly drawn out his knife, and sharpened the other end of the stake while coming across the beach.
From The Castaways by Lolbran Pearse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
