gavial

English

Wikispecies

Alternative forms

• gharial, gharrial, ghavial

Etymology

From Hindi घड़ियाल (ghaṛiyāl). Doublet of gharial.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡeɪ.vi.əl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

gavial (plural gavials)

1. The crocodilian Gavialis gangeticus; any species of the family Gavialidae.
   • 2002, Pierre-Henri Gouyon, Jean-Pierre Henry, Jacques Arnould, “Gene Avatars: The Neo-Darwinian Theory of Evolution”, in Tiiu Ojasoo, transl., [1997, Les avatars du gène: La théorie néodarwinienne de l'évolution], page 28:

     Cuvier had begun studying the fossils of crocodiles found near Caen and Honfleur in France. (They were, in fact, gavials, fine-jawed crocodiles that are nowadays found in India).

   • 2006, Lynn Huggins-Cooper, Ravenous Reptiles, page 19:

     Although human remains and jewelry have been found in their stomachs, gavials are not as fierce as many alligators and crocodiles.

   • 2011, Joseph T. Springer, Dennis Holley, An Introduction to Zoology: Investigating the Animal World, page 415:

     Gavials (or gharials) are found only on the northern Indian subcontinent, where most are riverine, being best adapted to calmer areas in deep fast-flowing rivers.

Usage notes

Technically, extending the definition to family Gavialidae results in including just one other extant species: the false gavial (Tomistoma schlegelii). However, the subfamily Tomistominae is often (perhaps usually) excluded from Gavialidae.

Synonyms

• (Gavialis gangeticus): fish-eating crocodile, gharial, Indian gharial
• (any species of Gavialidae): gavialid

Derived terms

• false gavial (Tomistoma schlegelii)

Related terms

• gavialid

Translations

crocodilian of genus Gavialis

• Arabic: جَرَال (jarāl), جَافِيال (jāfiyāl)
• Assamese: ঘঁৰিয়াল (ghõrial)
• Baluchi: مل مچ (mal mac)
• Bengali: ঘড়িয়াল (bn) (ghoṛiẏal), ঘোড়েল (bn) (ghōṛel)
• Catalan: gavial (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 恆河鱷 / 恒河鳄 (zh) (hénghé'è), 食魚鱷 / 食鱼鳄 (zh) (shíyú'è), 印度食魚鱷 / 印度食鱼鳄 (yìndù shíyú'è), 印度鱷 / 印度鳄 (zh) (yìndù'è)

• Dutch: gaviaal (nl) c
• Finnish: gaviaali (fi), gangesingaviaali (fi)
• French: gavial du Gange m, gavial (fr) m
• German: Gangesgavial m, Gharial m, Gavial (de) m
• Gujarati: ઘડિયાલ (ghaḍiyāl)
• Hindi: घड़ियाल (hi) (ghaṛiyāl)
• Japanese: インドガビアル (ja) (indogabiaru), ガビアル (ja) (gabiaru)
• Khmer: ក្រពើផ្ទោង (krɑpəə ptoung)
• Malayalam: ചീങ്കണ്ണി (ml) (cīṅkaṇṇi), മീൻമുതല (mīṉmutala)
• Marathi: सुसर (susar)
• Navajo: táłkááʼ tsʼin bíchį́į́hnézí
• Nepali: घडियाल (ne) (ghaḍiyāl)
• Polish: gawial (pl) m
• Portuguese: gavial m
• Punjabi: ਘੜੀਆਲ (ghaṛī'āl)
• Russian: гавиа́л (ru) m (gaviál)
• Sindhi: گھڙيال (ghaṛiyālu)
• Spanish: gavial (es) m
• Swedish: gavial (sv) c
• Tamil: கரியால் (kariyāl)
• Tibetan: རེ་འབྱམས་མཆུ་རིང་། (re 'byams mchu ring)
• Urdu: گھڑیال (ghaṛiyāl)

See also

• caiman
• Gavialis

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from French gavial, from Hindi घड़ियाल (ghaṛiyāl, “alligator, crocodile”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ɡə.βiˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ɡə.viˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ɡa.viˈal]

Noun

gavial m (plural gavials)

1. gavial (Gavialis gangeticus)

Derived terms

• fals gavial

Further reading

• “gavial”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi घड़ियाल (ghaṛiyāl, “alligator, crocodile”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡa.vjal/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

gavial m (plural gaviaux)

1. gavial

Descendants

• → Catalan: gavial
• → Portuguese: gavial
• → Romanian: gavial
• → Spanish: gavial

Further reading

• “gavial”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from French gavial, borrowed from Hindi घड़ियाल (ghaṛiyāl). First attested in 1862.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ɡa.viˈaw/ [ɡa.vɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /ɡaˈvjaw/ [ɡaˈvjaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɡɐˈvjal/ [ɡɐˈvjaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɡɐˈvjal/ [ɡɐˈvjaɫ]
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɡɐˈbjal/ [ɡɐˈβjaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɡɐˈvja.li/

• Rhymes: -aw, -al
• Hyphenation: ga‧vi‧al

Noun

gavial m (plural gaviais)

1. gavial (Gavialis gangeticus)
   • 1862 December 10, “Amolação ou fragmentos das memorias do barão do Aroiche”, in Correio Paulistano, volume IX, number 1978, São Paulo, page 2, column 4:

     Na verdade, sr. redactor, o tal barão a princinio tem tantas melurias e afagos, que deixa facinar atè aquelles que como eu, é contra as bajulaçõe[s]; porque são tantos os seus carinhos e dôces palavras, que faz-me lembrar, (hoje que bem o conheç[o]) — a astucia dos crocodilos ou gacial^{[sic – meaning gavial]}, cujos animaes derramão lagrimas quando se apoderão da presa.

     Actually, Mr. Editor, the so-called baron comes with so many flatteries and caresses that he fascinates even people like me, who are against adulations; because his caresses and sweet words are so many that it reminds me (now that I know him well) the cunning of the crocodiles, or gavial, that shed tears when they seize their prey.

   • 1867 October 24, “A cholera”, A Gazetilha, in Publicador Maranhense, volume XXVI, number 244, São Luís, page 2, column 5:

     Fundado nesta observação o Sr. Cretagne enviou á sociedade protectora dos animaes uma memoria em que sustenta que a causa da frequente invasão da cholera é terem os inglezes extinguido quasi completamente o gavial gangetico, especie de reptil pertencente á familia dos saurios, que vive só de carnes mortas.

     Based on this observation, Mr. Cretagne sent a memoir to the animal welfare society where he sustains that the cause of the frequent cholera invasion is the English having almost completely extincted the Gangetic gavial, a species of repitle belonging to the saurian family that lives on dead meat.

   • 2015 September 8, Oliver Milman, “Atividade humana pode extinguir metade das espécies de crocodilos do mundo”, in O Eco‎^[1], Rio de Janeiro, archived from the original on 2021-03-27:

     O gavial, uma espécie de nariz longo que come peixes, sofre com a destruição de seu habitat na Índia. Construções nas margens e dragagem do rio Ganges têm enorme impacto sobre esta espécie, assim como o uso indiscriminado de pesca com rede.

     The gavial, a long-nosed species that eats fish, suffers with the destruction of its habitat in India. Buildings at the banks and dredging of the Ganges river have an enormous impact on this species, as wel as the indiscriminate use of net fishing.

Coordinate terms

crocodilians: crocodilianosedit

• aligátor / aligator
• caimão
• crocodilo
• gavial
• jacaré

Related terms

• falso-gavial
• gavial-da-malásia
• gavialídeo

Further reading

• “gavial”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “gavial”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “gavial”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025
• “gavial”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025

Romanian

Un gavial

Etymology

Borrowed from French gavial, from Hindi घड़ियाल (ghaṛiyāl, “alligator, crocodile”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡaviˈal/
• Hyphenation: ga‧vi‧al

Noun

gavial m (plural gaviali)

1. gavial

Declension

Declension of gavial

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	gavial	gavialul		gaviali	gavialii
genitive-dative	gavial	gavialului		gaviali	gavialilor
vocative	gavialule			gavialilor

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from French gavial, from Hindi घड़ियाल (ghaṛiyāl, “alligator, crocodile”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡaˈbjal/ [ɡaˈβ̞jal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ga‧vial

Noun

gavial m (plural gaviales)

1. gavial, gharial

Further reading

• “gavial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10