Turtle
Turtle (tûr"t'l) , noun
[Anglo-Saxon turtle, Latin turtur; probably of imitative origin. Compare Turtle the sea tortoise.]
(Zoology) The turtledove.
Turtle , noun
[Probably the same word as the word preceding, and substituted (probably by sailors) for the Spanish or Portuguese name; compare Sp. tortuga tortoise, turtle, Portuguese tartaruga, also French tortue, and English tortoise.]
1.
(Zoology) Any one of the numerous species of Testudinata, especially a sea turtle, or chelonian.
In the United States the land and fresh-water tortoises are also called turtles.
2.
(Printing) The curved plate in which the form is held in a type-revolving cylinder press.
Collocations (5)
green turtle (Zoology) , a marine turtle of the genus Chelonia, having usually a smooth greenish or olive-colored shell. It is highly valued for the delicacy of its flesh, which is used especially for turtle soup. Two distinct species or varieties are known; one of which (Chelonia Midas) inhabits the warm part of the Atlantic Ocean, and sometimes weighs eight hundred pounds or more; the other (Chelonia virgata) inhabits the Pacific Ocean. Both species are similar in habits and feed principally on seaweed and other marine plants, especially the turtle grass.
Turtle cowrie (Zoology) , a large, handsome cowrie (Cypraea testudinaria); the turtle-shell; so called because of its fancied resemblance to a tortoise in color and form.
Turtle grass (Botany) , a marine plant (Thalassia testudinum) with grasslike leaves, common about the West Indies.
Turtle shell , tortoise shell. See under Tortoise.