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Tortoise - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Tortoise : (noun)
1: usually herbivorous land turtles having clawed elephant-like
limbs; worldwide in arid area except Australia and
Antarctica
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Tortoise : \Tor"toise\, n. [OE. tortuce, fr. OF. tortis crooked,
fr. L. tortus isted, crooked, contorted, p. p. of torquere,
tortum, to wind; cf. F. tortue tortoise, LL. tortuca,
tartuca, Pr. tortesa crookedness, tortis crooked. so called
in allusion to its crooked feet. See Torture.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of reptiles of the
order Testudinata.
Note: The term is applied especially to the land and
fresh-water species, while the marine species are
generally called turtles, but the terms tortoise and
turtle are used synonymously by many writers. see
Testudinata, Terrapin, and Turtle.
2. (Rom. Antiq.) Same as Testudo, 2.
Box tortoise, Land tortoise, etc. See under Box,
Land, etc.
Painted tortoise. (Zo["o]l.) See Painted turtle, under
Painted.
Soft-shell tortoise. (Zo["o]l.) See Trionyx.
Spotted tortoise. (Zo["o]l.) A small American fresh-water
tortoise ({Chelopus, or Nanemys, quttatus) having a
blackish carapace on which are scattered round yellow
spots.
Tortoise beetle (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of
small tortoise-shaped beetles. Many of them have a
brilliant metallic luster. the larv[ae] feed upon the
leaves of various plants, and protect themselves beneath a
mass of dried excrement held over the back by means of the
caudal spines. The golden tortoise beetle ({Cassida
aurichalcea) is found on the morning-glory vine and
allied plants.
Tortoise plant. (Bot.) See Elephant's foot, under
Elephant.
Tortoise shell, the substance of the shell or horny plates
of several species of sea turtles, especially of the
hawkbill turtle. It is used in inlaying and in the
manufacture of various ornamental articles.
Tortoise-shell butterfly (Zo["o]l.), any one of several
species of handsomely colored butterflies of the genus
Aglais, as A. Milberti, and A. urtic[ae], both of
which, in the larva state, feed upon nettles.
Tortoise-shell turtle (Zo["o]l.), the hawkbill turtle. See
Hawkbill.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Tortoise : (Heb. tsabh). Ranked among the unclean animals (Lev. 11:29).
Land tortoises are common in Syria. The LXX. renders the word by
"land crocodile." The word, however, more probably denotes a
lizard, called by the modern Arabs _dhabb_.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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