testudo
Americannoun
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(among the ancient Romans) a movable shelter with a strong and usually fireproof arched roof, used for protection of soldiers in siege operations.
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a shelter formed by overlapping oblong shields, held by soldiers above their heads.
noun
Etymology
Origin of testudo
1350–1400 for earlier sense “tumor”; 1600–10 testudo for def. 1; Middle English < Latin testūdō tortoise, tortoise shell, siege engine; akin to test 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A signal being given at break of day, their entire multitude is marshalled in the forum; thence, after raising the shout and forming a testudo, they advance to the attack.
From The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08 by Livius, Titus
The name Testudinea, from Latin testudo, a tortoise, is an appropriate one, as when held up to the light this Cominella looks like tortoise-shell.
From Beautiful Shells of New Zealand An Illustrated Work for Amateur Collectors of New Zealand Marine Shells, with Directions for Collecting and Cleaning them by Moss, E. G. B.
Wooden towers were brought to bear upon the battlements; a testudo of shields was used as cover for the men who undermined the walls; but Ez-Zegry was still unsubdued.
From The Moors in Spain by Lane-Poole, Stanley
The Latin word testudo, a shell is often so used.
From MacMillan's Reading Books Book V by Anonymous
Invisible animals took it up, particle by particle, to build a testudo, a traveling house, for themselves.
From Among the Forces by Warren, Henry White
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
