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tortoise

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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A tortoise

Etymology

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FromMiddle Englishtortuse,tortuce,tortuge, fromMedieval Latintortuca, of uncertain origin. May be fromLate Latintartarūcha, fromtartarūchus, fromAncient Greekταρταροῦχος(tartaroûkhos,“holder ofTartaros,Tartarus, the land of the dead in ancient stories”), because it used to be thought that tortoises and turtles came from the underworld and they were commonly paired with such infernal beasts; seeΤάρταρος(Tártaros). Or, fromLatintortus(“twisted”). The French-looking Modern English spellingtortoise may be influenced byporpoise. Displaced nativeOld Englishbyrdling.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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tortoise (pluraltortoises)

  2. Any of various land-dwellingreptiles, of thefamilyTestudinidae(chiefly Canada,US) or the orderTestudines(chiefly UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, India), whose body is enclosed in ashell (carapace plusplastron). The animal canwithdraw its head and four legs partially into the shell, providing someprotection frompredators.
    Synonym:(obsolete)shellpad
    • 1961,Harry E. Wedeck,Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page235:
      Thetortoise, with its characteristic protrusion of the head and neck, was a symbol sacred to Venus. It represented the procreative principle.
  3. Synonym ofcat(sense 11, a wheeled shelter)

Usage notes

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Differences exist in usage of the common termsturtle,tortoise, andterrapin, depending on the variety of English being used. In American usage,turtle is often a general term;tortoise is used only in reference to terrestrial turtles or, more narrowly, only those members ofTestudinidae, the family of modern land tortoises; andterrapin may refer to turtles that are small and live in fresh and brackish water.

British and Commonwealth usage, by contrast, tends not to useturtle as a generic term for all members of the order but instead as a synonym forsea turtle specifically, and also applies the termtortoises broadly to all land-dwelling members of the orderTestudines, regardless of whether they are actually members of the familyTestudinidae.

Land tortoises are not native to Australia, yet traditionally freshwater turtles have been calledtortoises in Australia.

Derived terms

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Translations

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land-dwelling reptile

See also

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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