previous next


The Egyptians called the crocodiles ‘em-suh’ (‘that which is born of the egg’); hence the name χάμψα, in which the aspirate has become prefixed. For the Ionic name, κροκόδειλοι, cf. alligator, i.e. the Spanish al lagarto (‘the lizard’).

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: