tortoise

tortoise
tortoise (n.) 1550s, altered (perhaps by influence of porpoise) from Middle English tortuse (late 15c.), tortuce (mid-15c.), tortuge (late 14c.), from M.L. tortuca (mid-13c.), perhaps from L.L. tartaruchus "of the underworld" (see TURTLE (Cf. turtle)). Others propose a connection with L. tortus "twisted," based on the shape of the feet. The classical Latin word was testudo, from testa "shell." First record of tortoise shell as a coloring pattern is from 1782.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Tortoise — Datos generales Origen Chicago, Illinois, Estados Unidos …   Wikipedia Español

  • Tortoise — Tor toise, n. [OE. tortuce, fr. OF. tortis crooked, fr. L. tortus twisted, 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 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tortoise — Жанр построк Годы 1990 по сей день Страна …   Википедия

  • TORTOISE — (Mod. Heb. צָב), a reptile. In Israel there are several species of both land and water tortoises; the latter lives in both sweet and salt water. Some commentators identify the צָב (ẓav), enumerated among the unclean reptiles (Lev. 11:29), with… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • tortoise — [tôrt′əs] n. pl. tortoises or tortoise [ME tortuce < ML tortuca, altered (prob. by assoc. with L tortus, twisted) < VL * tartaruca < ? LGr tartarouchos, evil demon, orig., controlling Tartarus] a turtle, esp. one that lives on land, as… …   English World dictionary

  • tortoise — should be pronounced taw tǝs. The form taw toyz, with the second syllable like poise, is non standard …   Modern English usage

  • tortoise — ► NOUN ▪ a slow moving land reptile with a scaly or leathery domed shell into which it can retract its head and legs. ORIGIN Latin tortuca …   English terms dictionary

  • Tortoise — Taxobox name = Tortoises image width = 250px image caption = A Galápagos Giant Tortoise regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Reptilia ordo = Testudines subordo = Cryptodira superfamilia = Testudinoidea familia = Testudinidae subdivision… …   Wikipedia

  • Tortoise — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Tortoise (homonymie). Tortoise …   Wikipédia en Français

  • tortoise — /tawr teuhs/, n. 1. a turtle, esp. a terrestrial turtle. 2. a very slow person or thing. 3. testudo (def. 1). [1350 1400; var. of earlier (15th century) tortuse, tortose, tortuce, ME tortuca < ML tortuca, for LL tartarucha (fem. adj.) of Tartarus …   Universalium

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