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Webster 1913 Edition

Turtle

Tur′tle

(tûr′t’l)
,
Noun.
[AS.
turtle
, L.
turtur
; probably of imitative origin. Cf.
Turtle
the sea tortoise.]
(Zool.)
The turtledove.

Tur′tle

,
Noun.
[Probably the same word as the word preceding, and substituted (probably by sailors) for the Spanish or Portuguese name; cf. Sp.
tortuga
tortoise, turtle, Pg.
tartaruga
, also F.
tortue
, and E.
tortoise
.]
1.
(Zool.)
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.
Alligator turtle
,
Box turtle
,
etc. See under
Alligator
,
Box
, etc.
–
green turtle
(Zool.)
,
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
(Zool.)
,
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
(Bot.)
,
a marine plant (
Thalassia testudinum
) with grasslike leaves, common about the West Indies.
–
Turtle shell
,
tortoise shell. See under
Tortoise
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Turtle

TUR'TLE

,
Noun.
[L. turtur.]
1.
A fowl of the genus Columba; called also the turtle dove, and turtle pigeon. It is a wild species, frequenting the thickest parts of the woods, and its note is plaintive and tender.
2.
The name sometimes given to the common tortoise.
3.
The name given to the large sea-tortoise.

Definition 2024

Turtle

Turtle

See also: turtle

English

Proper noun

Turtle

  1. A river in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Derived terms

turtle

turtle

See also: Turtle

English

Alternative forms

  • tortle (obsolete)

Noun

turtle ‎(plural turtles)

  1. (US, Canada) Any land or marine reptile of the order Testudines, characterised by a protective shell enclosing its body. See also tortoise.
  2. (Australia, Britain) A marine reptile of that order; a sea turtle.
  3. (military) 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. (computing) 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. (computing) An on-screen cursor that serves the same function as a turtle for drawing.
    • 1997, Brian Harvey, Computer Science Logo Style: Symbolic computing
      Depending on which version of Logo you have, the turtle may look like an actual animal with a head and four legs or — as in Berkeley Logo — it may be represented as a triangle.
  6. (printing, historical) The curved plate in which the form is held in a type-revolving cylinder press.
  7. (computing theory) 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".
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

turtle ‎(third-person singular simple present turtles, present participle turtling, simple past and past participle turtled)

  1. To flip over onto the back or top; to turn upside down.
    • 1919, Iowa Highway Commission, Service Bulletin, Issues 15-32‎, page 48
      Were speeding when car turtled […] Auto crashed into curb and turtled.
  2. To turn and swim upside down.
    • 2009, Amy Waeschle, Chasing Waves: A Surfer's Tale of Obsessive Wandering‎, page 149
      I turtled my board beneath it, flipped upright, and started paddling again.
  3. To hunt turtles, especially in the water.
    • 1973, Bernard Nietschmann, Between Land and Water: The Subsistence Ecology of the Miskito Indians, page 153
      Of these, 80 turtled (65%), 26 hunted and turtled (20%), and 18 hunted (15%).
  4. (video games, board games) To build up a large defense force and strike only punctually, rather than going for an offensive strategy.
Translations

See also

Etymology 2

From Middle English turtle, tortle, turtel, turtul, from Old English turtle, turtla ‎(“turtledove”), ultimately from Latin turtur ‎(“turtledove”), of imitative origin.

Noun

turtle ‎(plural turtles)

  1. (now rare, archaic) A turtle dove.
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.8:
      The same he tooke, and with a riband new, / In which his Ladies colours were, did bind / About the turtles neck […] .
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology

Modification of French tortue (under the influence of turtle ‎(“turtledove”), see Etymology 2 below), from the same source of tortoise (see there for more).

Pronunciation

A Florida box turtle, a land turtle.
A sea turtle.
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈtɜːtəl/
  • (US) enPR: tûrʹtəl, IPA(key): /ˈtɝtəl/
  • Rhymes: -ɜː(r)təl

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