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
A true crocodile, also, Crocodilus toliapicus, and another saurian more nearly allied to the gavial, accompany the above fossils; also the relics of several birds and quadrupeds.
From The Student's Elements of Geology by Lyell, Charles, Sir
Alligators are found in most of the rivers, and the gavial is less frequently met with.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 3 "Borgia, Lucrezia" to "Bradford, John" by Various
The gavial is found in Asia—particularly in the Ganges and other Indian rivers, and is the crocodile of those parts.
From The Boy Hunters by Unknown
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 Pearse, Lolbran
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.
