tortoise

Definition of tortoise in English English dictionary: Any of various land-dwelling reptiles, of family Testudinidae, whose body is enclosed in a shell (carapace plus plastron). The animal can withdraw its head and four legs partially into the shell, providing some protection from predators; {n} a genus of amphibious reptiles, covered with a crust, an old military defense; A tortoise is a slow-moving animal with a shell into which it can pull its head and legs for protection. Any of some 40 species (family Testudinidae) of slow-moving, terrestrial, herbivorous turtles, found in the Old and New Worlds but chiefly in Africa and Madagascar. Tortoises have a high, domed shell, heavy elephantlike hind legs, and hard-scaled forelegs. The four North American species (genus Gopherus) have a brown shell, about 8-14 in. (20-35 cm) long, and flattened forelimbs adapted for burrowing. The common, or European, tortoise (Testudo graeca) has a shell about 7-10 in. (18-25 cm) long. Most species of giant tortoises on the Galápagos and other islands are now rare or extinct. One captive Galápagos tortoise had a shell 4.25 ft (1.3 m) long and weighed 300 lbs (140 kg); Any one of numerous species of reptiles of the order Testudinata; usually herbivorous land turtles having clawed elephant-like limbs; worldwide in arid area except Australia and Antarctica; {i} any of several species of terrestrial turtle, species of land-dwelling reptile with a hard dome-shaped shell; Same as Testudo, 2
tortoise shell: The shell of a tortoise, sometimes inaccurately the shell of a turtle, or that material
tortoise shells: plural form of tortoise shell
tortoise-shell: Attributive form of tortoise shell, noun
A tortoise-shell ashtray.
Tortoise and the Hare: a fable (=a traditional story that teaches a moral lesson) by Aesop in which a tortoise and a hare have a race. The tortoise unexpectedly wins by moving slowly but steadily, while the hare, because he knows he can run much faster than the tortoise, stops halfway and falls asleep. The lesson of the story is "Slow and steady wins the race
tortoise beetle: Any of several small beetles of the subfamily Cassidinae, shaped somewhat like a tortoise and having soft, fleshy larvae that eat the leaves of trees
tortoise-shell: carapace, hard shell which surrounds a tortoise
giant tortoise: Any of several species of reptile of the extinct genuses (Cylindraspis, Dipsochelys, and Meiolania platyceps)
giant tortoise: Any member or species of the genus Geochelone land tortoises reaching 1.3 meters in length and with average life spans exceeding 100 years
pancake tortoise: A species of flat-shelled tortoise, taxonomic name Malacochersus tornieri
Hare and the Tortoise: another name for The Tortoise and the Hare
desert tortoise: burrowing tortoise of the arid western United States and northern Mexico; may be reclassified as a member of genus Xerobates
european tortoise: small land tortoise of southern Europe
giant tortoise: very large tortoises of the Galapagos and Seychelles islands
gopher tortoise: burrowing edible land tortoise of southeastern North America
texas tortoise: close relative to the desert tortoise; may be reclassified as a member of genus Xerobates
tortoises: plural of tortoise

tortoise

Hyphenation

tor·toise

Turkish pronunciation

tôrtıs

Pronunciation

/ˈtôrtəs/ /ˈtɔːrtəs/

Etymology

() Middle English tortuse, tortuce, tortuge, from Medieval Latin tortuca, possibly from Late Latin tartarūcha, from Late Latin tartarūchus (“of Tartarus”), from Ancient Greek ταρταροῦχος (tartarouchos, “from Tartaros, Tartarus, the land of the dead in ancient stories”), because it used to be thought that tortoises and turtles came from the underworld; or from Latin tortus (“twisted”).

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