tor·toise
(tôr′tĭs)n.
1. Any of various terrestrial turtles, especially one of the family Testudinidae, characteristically having thick clublike hind limbs and a high, rounded carapace.
2. One that moves slowly; a laggard.
[Middle English tortuce, turtle, tortoise, probably partly from Anglo-Norman tortouse (variant of Old French tortue) and partly from Medieval Latin tortūca, both ultimately from Vulgar Latin *tartarūca, feminine of *tartarūcus, of Tartarus; see turtle1.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
tortoise
(ˈtɔːtəs)n
1. (Animals) any herbivorous terrestrial chelonian reptile of the family Testudinidae, of most warm regions, having a heavy dome-shaped shell and clawed limbs.
2. (Animals) water tortoise another name for terrapin
3. a slow-moving person
4. (Arms & Armour (excluding Firearms)) another word for testudo See also giant tortoise
[C15: probably from Old French tortue (influenced by Latin tortus twisted), from Medieval Latin tortūca, from Late Latin tartarūcha coming from Tartarus, from Greek tartaroukhos; referring to the belief that the tortoise originated in the underworld]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
tor•toise
(ˈtɔr təs)n.
1. a turtle, esp. a terrestrial turtle.
2. a very slow person or thing.
[1350–1400; variant of earlier tortuse, tortose, tortuce, Middle English tortuca < Medieval Latin tortūca, for Late Latin tartarūcha (feminine adj.) of Tartarus (< Greek tartaroûcha), the tortoise being regarded as an infernal animal]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
tor·toise
(tôr′tĭs) Any of various turtles that live on land.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
tortoise
- shellpad - Another name for a tortoise.
- testudinate - Means "slow-moving; like a turtle," from Latin testudo, "tortoise," and also describes something curved or vaulted like a turtle shell.
- Galapagos Islands - Named for the massive tortoises living there, from Old Spanish galapago, "tortoise."
- turtle, tortoise, terrapin - Turtle is applied to those living in water and tortoise to those that live on land, while terrapins live in fresh water; turtle and tortoise may come from the Latin root tort, with reference to the animals' twisted feet.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  tortoise - usually herbivorous land turtles having clawed elephant-like limbs; worldwide in arid area except Australia and Antarcticaturtle - any of various aquatic and land reptiles having a bony shell and flipper-like limbs for swimming family Testudinidae, Testudinidae - land tortoises European tortoise, Testudo graeca - small land tortoise of southern Europe giant tortoise - very large tortoises of the Galapagos and Seychelles islands gopher tortoise, gopher turtle, Gopherus polypemus, gopher - burrowing edible land tortoise of southeastern North America desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii - burrowing tortoise of the arid western United States and northern Mexico; may be reclassified as a member of genus Xerobates Texas tortoise - close relative to the desert tortoise; may be reclassified as a member of genus Xerobates |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
tortoise
nounRelated words
adjectives chelonian, testudinal
see reptilesadjectives chelonian, testudinal
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
سُلَحْفَاةسُلْحَفاه
želva
skildpadde
testudo
kilpikonna
kornjača
szárazföldi teknõsbékateknősteknősbéka
kura-kura
skjaldbaka
カメ
거북이
vėžlys
bruņurupucis
korytnačka
želva
sköldpadda
เต่า
kaplumbağakara kamlumbağasıtosbağa
con rùa
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
tortoise
n → Schildkröte f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
tortoise
(ˈtoːtəs) noun a kind of four-footed, slow-moving reptile covered with a hard shell.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
tortoise
→ سُلَحْفَاة želva skildpadde Schildkröte χελώνα tortuga kilpikonna tortue kornjača tartaruga カメ 거북이 schildpad skilpadde żółw tartaruga черепаха sköldpadda เต่า kaplumbağa con rùa 龟Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009