Alligator: What's In The Name

Alligator Fleur De Lis by figstreetstudio

The earliest use of the word alligator that appears in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (First Folio, 1623):

"In his needie shop a tortoyrs hung,/An Allegater stuft."




      Originally from the Spanish description, el lagarto, "the lizard,"  then evolved over years of usage to the modern word. Often thought of as "seafood" as it lives in the waters of the south it is meat and a taboo to eat in some cultures. Not for the Cajuns of South Louisiana. Prepared well it is compared to chicken, fried, stewed, or grilled like steak.
 I use the alligator in my art. As I canoe I have seen, run into, and avoided alligators on many occasions. I also as a Chef had the opportunity to visit an alligator butcher in the bayous of Louisiana and witnesses from live to cut into parts on several occasions. To celebrate the Alligator and South Louisiana I have designed the above Alligator Fleur de Lis, sold on shirts and gifts at my art studio.