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
Alligatorschildkröte — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer