terrapin
(noun) any of various edible North American web-footed turtles living in fresh or brackish water
Source: WordNet® 3.1
terrapin (plural terrapins)
Any of several small turtles, of the families Emydidae and Geoemydidae, that live in fresh or brackish water.
• earprint, pretrain
Source: Wiktionary
Ter"ra*pin, n. Etym: [Probably of American Indian origin.] (Zoöl.)
Definition: Any one of numerous species of tortoises living in fresh and brackish waters. Many of them are valued for food. [Written also terapin, terrapen, terrapene, and turapen.]
Note: The yellow-bellied terrapin (Pseudemys acebra) of the Southern United States, the red-bellied terrapin (Pseudemys rugosa), native of the tributaries Chesapeake Bay (called also potter, slider, and redfender), and the diamond-back or salt-marsh terrapin (Malaclemmys palustris), are the most important American species. The diamond-back terrapin is native of nearly the whole of the Atlantic coast of the United States. Alligator terrapin, the snapping turtle.
– Mud terrapin, any one of numerous species of American tortoises of the genus Cinosternon.
– Painted terrapin, the painted turtle. See under Painted.
– Speckled terrapin, a small fresh-water American terrapin (Chelopus guttatus) having the carapace black with round yellow spots; -- called also spotted turtle.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
24 May 2025
(adjective) sufficiently significant to affect the whole world; “earthshaking proposals”; “the contest was no world-shaking affair”; “the conversation...could hardly be called world-shattering”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
