testudo

[ te-stoo-doh, -styoo- ]

noun

, plural tes·tu·di·nes [te-, stood, -n-eez, -, styood, -].

1. (among the ancient Romans) a movable shelter with a strong and usually fireproof arched roof, used for protection of soldiers in siege operations.
2. a shelter formed by overlapping oblong shields, held by soldiers above their heads.

testudo

/ tɛˈstjuːdəʊ /

noun

1. a form of shelter used by the ancient Roman Army for protection against attack from above, consisting either of a mobile arched structure or of overlapping shields held by the soldiers over their heads

Word History and Origins

Origin of testudo¹

1350–1400 for earlier sense “tumor”; 1600–10 testudo fordef 1; Middle English < Latin testūdō tortoise, tortoise shell, siege engine; akin to test ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of testudo¹

C17: from Latin: a tortoise, from testa a shell

Example Sentences

The elephant tortoise (Testudo Schweigeri) is often found on some islands, and in the marshy mouths of several rivers.

From Project Gutenberg

It was a gigantic tortoise—a specimen of Testudo elephantopus—a huge cumbersome brute.

From Project Gutenberg

Hibbard's Testudo riggsi (Hibbard, 1944) is the best known of these smaller turtles.

From Project Gutenberg

Baguian is famed throughout those seas as a rookery for the giant tortoise—testudo elephantopus.

From Project Gutenberg

But I had no spare cash to lay out on stock, either in pigments or specimens of the genus testudo.

From Project Gutenberg