TORTOISE

tortoise

(noun) usually herbivorous land turtles having clawed elephant-like limbs; worldwide in arid area except Australia and Antarctica

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

tortoise (plural tortoises)

Any of various land-dwelling reptiles, of the family Testudinidae (chiefly, North America) or the order Testudines (chiefly, UK), 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.

Synonym: shellpad

Usage notes

Differences exist in usage of the common terms turtle, tortoise, and terrapin, 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 of Testudinidae, the family of modern land tortoises; and terrapin may refer to turtles that are small and live in fresh and brackish water.

British usage, by contrast, tends not to use turtle as a generic term for all members of the order but instead as a synonym for sea turtle specifically, and also applies the term tortoises broadly to all land-dwelling members of the order Testudines, regardless of whether they are actually members of the family Testudinidae.

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

Source: Wiktionary

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Tor"toise, n. Etym: [OE. tortuce, fr. OF. tortis crooked, fr. L. tortus isted, crooked, contorted, p.p. of torquere, tortum, to wind; cf. F. tortue tortoise, LL. tortuca, tartuca, Pr. tortesa crookedness, tortis crooked. so called in allusion to its crooked feet. See Torture.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any one of numerous species of reptiles of the order Testudinata.

Note: The term is applied especially to the land and fresh-water species, while the marine species are generally called turtles, but the terms tortoise and turtle are used synonymously by many writers. see Testudinata, Terrapin, and Turtle.

2. (Rom. Antiq.)

Definition: Same as Testudo, 2. Box tortoise, Land tortoise, etc. See under Box, Land, etc.

– Painted tortoise. (Zoöl.) See Painted turtle, under Painted.

– Soft-shell tortoise. (Zoöl.) See Trionyx.

– Spotted tortoise. (Zoöl.) A small American fresh-water tortoise (Chelopus, or Nanemys, quttatus) having a blackish carapace on which are scattered round yellow spots.

– Tortoise beetle (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of small tortoise-shaped beetles. Many of them have a brilliant metallic luster. the larvæ feed upon the leaves of various plants, and protect themselves beneath a mass of dried excrement held over the back by means of the caudal spines. The golden tortoise beetle (Cassida aurichalcea) is found on the morning-glory vine and allied plants.

– Tortoise plant. (Bot.) See Elephant's foot, under Elephant.

– Tortoise shell, the substance of the shell or horny plates of several species of sea turtles, especially of the hawkbill turtle. It is used in inlaying and in the manufacture of various ornamental articles.

– Tortoise-shell butterfly (Zoöl.), any one of several species of handsomely colored butterflies of the genus Aglais, as A. Milberti, and A. urticæ, both of which, in the larva state, feed upon nettles.

– Tortoise-shell turtle (Zoöl.), the hawkbill turtle. See Hawkbill.

Definition: having a color like that aof a toroise's shell, black with white and orange spots; -- used mostly to describe cats of that color. n.

Definition: a tortoise-shell cat.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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