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).

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
Question 1 of 10
decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

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 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