tortoise

[ tawr-tuh s ]

/ ˈtɔr təs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tortoise ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a turtle, especially a terrestrial turtle.

a very slow person or thing.

Nearby words

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

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)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tortoise

Tortoise disqualified for technical reasons, first place awarded to Sputnik hare.
Why Does the USA Depend on Russian Rockets to Get Us Into Space?|P. J. O’Rourke|June 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The tortoise Hollande, early on in his bid to become the Socialist nominee, had only two reporters on his beat.
Against All Odds, Can Sarkozy Pull Out an Election Win vs. Hollande?|Tracy McNicoll|May 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Pattinson may be the tortoise to Lautner's hare.
Is He Sabotaging His Career?|Kim Masters|March 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST
She is married with two children, two dogs, a cat and a tortoise.
Revenge of the Wallflower|Fiona Golfar|June 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST

So without more ado she followed the way the tortoise had gone, and came to the school.
Rumanian Bird and Beast Stories|Anonymous
Peter Walsh was hoisting a sail, a gunter lug, on the Tortoise.
Priscilla's Spies|George A. Birmingham
He set to work to make a musical instrument, using the shell of a tortoise for the body and placing strings across it.
How the Piano Came to Be|Ellye Howell Glover
The elephant and tortoise of the Hindu earth are, no doubt, emblematic or typical, not literal.
Pioneers of Science|Oliver Lodge
And after the tortoise had said all this, there came from the celestial regions a car.
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 3 Pt. 2|Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli

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 limbsRelated 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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012