English Explanatory Dictionary

turtle

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Any land, marine, or semi-aquatic reptile of the order Testudines, characterised by a protective shell enclosing its body. See also tortoise.
  2. A marine reptile of that order.
  3. An Ancient Roman attack method, where the shields held by the soldiers hide them, not only left, right, front and back, but also from above.
  4. A type of robot having a domed case (and so resembling the reptile), used in education, especially for making line drawings by means of a computer program.
  5. An on-screen cursor that serves the same function as a turtle for drawing.
  6. The curved plate in which the form is held in a type-revolving cylinder press.
  7. A small element towards the end of a list of items to be bubble sorted, and thus tending to take a long time to be swapped into its correct position. Compare rabbit.
  8. A breakdancing move consisting of a float during which the dancer's weight shifts from one hand to the other, producing rotation or a circular "walk".
  9. A low stand for a lamp etc.
  10. A candy with pecans, caramel, and chocolate, often shaped like a turtle.
verb
  1. To flip over onto the back or top; to turn upside down.
  2. To move along slowly.
  3. To turn and swim upside down.
  4. To hunt turtles, especially in the water.
  5. To build up a large defense force and strike only occasionally, rather than going for an offensive strategy.
  6. To struggle to hold back an involuntary bowel movement.
noun
  1. A turtle dove.
name
  1. A river in Saskatchewan, Canada.
  2. An extinct town in Dent County, Missouri, United States.
  3. A town in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States.
  4. A surname, thought to be derived from the turtle dove.
noun
  1. A member of the Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles, a drinking club.

Pronunciation

/ˈtɜːtl̩/ tûrʹtəl /ˈtɝtl̩/ [ˈtʰɝɾɫ̩] en-us-turtle.ogg en-au-turtle.ogg

Word forms

turtle turtles tortle turtling turtled

Etymology

Modification of Middle English tortou, tortu, from Old French tortüe (under the influence of Middle English turtel, turtur (“turtledove”), see Etymology 2 below), from Medieval Latin tortuca (compare Spanish tortuga), the same source of tortoise (see there for more). Displaced native Old English byrdling (See birdling).

Synonyms

birdling chelid chelonian shellpad shield-toad terrapin testudine tortoise turpin sea turtle testudo prairie dog

Related words

:Category:Reptiles reptilelike chelonian hatchling terrapin tortoise

Derived words

African forest turtle African helmeted turtle African sideneck turtle African softshell turtle Alabama map turtle Alabama red-bellied turtle Alabama turtle Alamos mud turtle alligator turtle alligator-turtle American Turtle Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles Arakan forest turtle arrau turtle Australasian pig-nose turtle Australian short-necked turtle Austro-American sideneck turtle awkward turtle big-headed turtle black-breasted leaf turtle black marsh turtle black turtle bean Blanding's turtle bog turtle box turtle box-turtle chicken turtle chicken-turtle Chinese pond turtle Chinese three-banded box turtle Chinese three-striped box turtle common snakeneck turtle cooter turtle diamond-backed turtle dragon turtle eastern long-neck turtle false map turtle fertile as a turtle Fitzroy River turtle flatback turtle flat-headed turtle Florida redbelly turtle Fly River turtle golden coin turtle gopher turtle greaved turtle Greenland turtle green turtle have a turtle's head hawk-billed turtle hawksbill sea turtle hawk's-bill turtle hawksbill turtle horned turtle Kemp's ridley sea turtle land turtle leaf turtle leatherback turtle leather turtle leather-turtle

Translations

Abenaki: tolba Abkhaz: акәуа Afrikaans: skilpad Ahom: 𑜄𑜧 Akkadian: 𒁄𒄀 Akkadian: 𒃻𒅮𒈾 Albanian: breshkë Southern Altai: таш-бака Alviri-Vidari: لوکپشت Arabic: سُلَحْفَاة Arabic: غَيْلَم Arabic: سلحفة Arabic: حمسة Arabic: فكرون Arabic: زِلْحفِة Arabic: سلحفاة Arabic: كركعة Tunisian Arabic: فكرون Aragonese: tartuga Aramaic: ܪܩܐ Aramaic: ܣܠܘܦܝܬܐ Armenian: կրիա Aromanian: broascã tsãstoasã Assamese: কাছ Asturian: tortuga Atayal: ksipa Avar: щурункъверкъ Azerbaijani: tısbağa West Coast Bajau: akah West Coast Bajau: penu Baoule: abu Bashkir: ташбаҡа Bashkir: гөбөргәйел Basque: dortoka Belarusian: чарапа́ха Bengali: কাছিম Bengali: কাটুয়া Bau Bidayuh: ponyu Central Bikol: baho Blackfoot: spopii Breton: baot Bulgarian: костену́рка Bulgarian: же́лва Burmese: လိပ် Catalan: tortuga Catawba: káia Cebuano: bao Chamicuro: majpolo Chechen: уьнтӏепхьид Cheyenne: ma'ëno Chinese Cantonese: 龜 /龟 Chinese Cantonese: 烏龜 /乌龟 Chinese: бегэ Chinese: бе Chinese: 烏龜 /乌龟 Chinese: 龜 /龟 Eastern Min Chinese: 烏龜 /乌龟 Eastern Min Chinese: 龜 /龟
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