tortoise

[ tawr-tuh s ]
/ ˈtɔr təs /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR tortoise ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a turtle, especially a terrestrial turtle.
a very slow person or thing.
testudo(def 1).

Origin of tortoise

1350–1400; variant of earlier (15th-century) 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; Medieval Latin form influenced by Latin tortus crooked, twisted (see tort)

Words nearby tortoise

tortile, tortilla, tortilla flat, tortillon, tortious, tortoise, tortoise beetle, tortoise brooch, tortoise plant, tortoise-core, tortoiseshell

Words related to tortoise

slowpoke, chelonian, snapper, terrapin, cooter, leatherback, loggerhead, testudinal

Example sentences from the Web for tortoise

British Dictionary definitions for tortoise

tortoise
/ (ˈtɔːtəs) /

noun

any herbivorous terrestrial chelonian reptile of the family Testudinidae, of most warm regions, having a heavy dome-shaped shell and clawed limbs Related adjectives: chelonian, testudinal
water tortoise another name for terrapin
a slow-moving person
another word for testudo See also giant tortoise

Word Origin for 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