testudo

American  

[te-stoo-doh, -styoo-] / tɛˈstu doʊ, -ˈstyu- /

noun

plural

testudines

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.

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testudo British  

/ 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

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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

Putting their shields upon their heads in a formation much like the old Roman testudo, they advance to the house in bodies of four or six and begin to hack down the posts.

From The Manóbos of Mindanáo Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume XXIII, First Memoir by Garvan, John M.

The testudo, a wooden shelter, was also used, large enough to contain several men.

From Beacon Lights of History, Volume 03 Ancient Achievements by Lord, John

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.

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

From Mated from the Morgue A tale of the Second Empire by O'Shea, John Augustus

The Latin word testudo, a shell is often so used.

From MacMillan's Reading Books Book V by Anonymous