Where does “Alligatorschildkröte” come from?

Alligatorschildkröte (German) comes from German Alligator, from English alligator, from English alligater, from Spanish lagarto, from Old Spanish lagarto, from Vulgar Latin *lacartum, from Latin lacertus, from Latin lacerta — lizard; ablative singular of lacerta.

Alligatorschildkröte (German): snapping turtle

Definitions

  1. snapping turtle

Ancestry of “Alligatorschildkröte”, step by step

Alligatorschildkröte traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Alligator

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanAlligatoralligator animal
2EnglishalligatorEither of two species of large amphibious...
3Englishalligater—
4Spanishlagartolizard; beer
5Old Spanishlagartolizard
6Vulgar Latin*lacartum—
7LatinlacertusAlternative form of lacerta: a lizard; The...
8Latinlacertalizard; ablative singular of lacerta

via German Schildkröte

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanSchildkröteturtle, tortoise
2GermanSchildshield, buckler; sign, plate
3Middle High Germanschilt—
4Old High Germanscilt—
5Proto-West Germanicskeldushield
6Proto-Germanicskelduzshield
7Proto-Indo-European(s)keit-—
Every word from Latin lacerta →Every word from Latin lacertus →Every word from Vulgar Latin *lacartum →