crocus (krokus)

[Cf. AS. croh, saffron; D. G. Dan. krokus = F. crocus = Sp. Pg. It. croco, cum, neut., kam, kurkum, saffron; Skt. kunkuma, saffron.] 1. A plant of the genus Crocus. The spendthrift crocus, bursting through the mould, Naked and shivering with his cup of gold. O. W. Holmes, Spring. jacarés, gavials, etc. All the species are more or le 2. [ cap.] [NL.] Age aquatic, though none of the living ones is marine. The order has been divided into the five families Alligatoridæ, Crocodilidæ, Gavialida, Teleosauridæ, and Belodontidæ, the last two including only extinct forms. Other names of the order are Loric at a, Emydosauria, and Hydros a uri a. Other divisions of the order than those above given are: (1) by Owen, into three suborders, Proccœlia, Amphicælia, and Opisthocœlia; and (2) by Huxley, likewise into three suborders, Para such i a, Me so such i a, and Eusuchia. crocodilian (krok-ō-dil' (krok-ō-dil'i-an), a . and n. [ croco- dile + -ian .] I. a. Relating to or of the nature of the crocodile; hence, in allusion to crocodile tears, hypocritical. See crocodile , a . O, what a crocodilian world is this, Composed of treach'ries and insnaring wiles! She clothes destruction in a formal ki , And lodges death in her deceitful smiles. Quarles, Emblems, i. 3. II. n. A crocodile; one of the Crocodilia . Also, improperly, spelled crocodile an . crocodilid (krok-ō-dil'id), n. A reptile of the family Crocodilida . pl. [NL.,