| 释义 |
tortoise
tor·toise T0282700 (tôr′tĭs)n.1. Any of various terrestrial turtles, especially one of the family Testudinidae, characteristically having thick clublike hind limbs and a high, rounded carapace.2. One that moves slowly; a laggard.
[Middle English tortuce, turtle, tortoise, probably partly from Anglo-Norman tortouse (variant of Old French tortue) and partly from Medieval Latin tortūca, both ultimately from Vulgar Latin *tartarūca, feminine of *tartarūcus, of Tartarus; see turtle1.]tortoise (ˈtɔːtəs) n1. (Animals) any herbivorous terrestrial chelonian reptile of the family Testudinidae, of most warm regions, having a heavy dome-shaped shell and clawed limbs. 2. (Animals) water tortoise another name for terrapin3. a slow-moving person4. (Arms & Armour (excluding Firearms)) another word for testudo See also giant 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]tor•toise (ˈtɔr təs)
n. 1. a turtle, esp. a terrestrial turtle. 2. a very slow person or thing. [1350–1400; variant of earlier 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] tor·toise (tôr′tĭs) Any of various turtles that live on land.tortoise- shellpad - Another name for a tortoise.
- testudinate - Means "slow-moving; like a turtle," from Latin testudo, "tortoise," and also describes something curved or vaulted like a turtle shell.
- Galapagos Islands - Named for the massive tortoises living there, from Old Spanish galapago, "tortoise."
- turtle, tortoise, terrapin - Turtle is applied to those living in water and tortoise to those that live on land, while terrapins live in fresh water; turtle and tortoise may come from the Latin root tort, with reference to the animals' twisted feet.
Thesaurus| Noun | 1. |  tortoise - usually herbivorous land turtles having clawed elephant-like limbs; worldwide in arid area except Australia and Antarcticaturtle - any of various aquatic and land reptiles having a bony shell and flipper-like limbs for swimmingfamily Testudinidae, Testudinidae - land tortoisesEuropean tortoise, Testudo graeca - small land tortoise of southern Europegiant tortoise - very large tortoises of the Galapagos and Seychelles islandsgopher tortoise, gopher turtle, Gopherus polypemus, gopher - burrowing edible land tortoise of southeastern North Americadesert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii - burrowing tortoise of the arid western United States and northern Mexico; may be reclassified as a member of genus XerobatesTexas tortoise - close relative to the desert tortoise; may be reclassified as a member of genus Xerobates |
tortoise nounRelated words
adjectives chelonian, testudinal see reptilesTranslationstortoise (ˈtoːtəs) noun a kind of four-footed, slow-moving reptile covered with a hard shell. 龜 龟tortoise
tortoise (tôr`təs), common name for a terrestrial turtleturtle,
a reptile of the order Chelonia, with strong, beaked, toothless jaws and, usually, an armorlike shell. The shell normally consists of bony plates overlaid with horny shields.
..... Click the link for more information. , especially one of the family Testudinidae. Tortoises inhabit warm regions of all continents except Australia. They have club-shaped feet with reduced toes adapted for walking on land, and nearly all have high-domed shells. The limbs are covered with hard scales and when the limbs and head are withdrawn into the shell, the animal is completely closed off. The most famous tortoises are the giant tortoises of islands in the Indian Ocean (Aldabrachelys gigantea) and of the Galápagos Islands (classified as either Chelonoidis nigra subspecies or Chelonoidis species). Galapagos tortoises may reach a length of over 4 ft (120 cm) and weigh over 500 lb (225 kg). There are about a dozen races of the Galapagos tortoise, most of them isolated on separate islands. These tortoises were a major source of meat for sailors in the 17th and 18th cent. and were often slaughtered wantonly. Once so abundant that the islands were named for them (galápago is Spanish for tortoise), they became extinct on some islands and were endangered on most of the others. The tortoises are now protected by law, and scientists from the Charles Darwin Research Station have bred some 2,000 and set free the different subspecies on the islands from which they came. North American tortoises, genus Gopherus, are burrowing forms with flattened feet and heavy nails. Three of the four species are very similar. The desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, inhabits deserts from S Nevada to NW Mexico; the Texas tortoise, G. berlandieri, lives in arid brush country and open woods from S Texas to NE Mexico; the gopher tortoise, G. polyphemus, is found in high, sandy areas of Florida and the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts. The desert and gopher tortoises reach a length of 13 in. (33 cm), while the Texas tortoise is about 8 1-2 in. (21.6 cm) long. The Bolson, or Mexican giant, tortoise, G. flavomarginatus, is a large species of NW Mexico. It has been much used for food, and the survival of the species is threatened. Tortoises are extremely long-lived; there are authenticated cases of individuals living over 150 years. They are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Chelonia, family Testudinidae. tortoise[′tȯrd·əs] (vertebrate zoology) Any of various large terrestrial reptiles in the order Chelonia, especially the family Testudinidae. tortoisesymbol of sexual purity. [Animal Symbolism: Mercatante, 21]See: Chastity
tortoiseslow and steady, it wins the race against the hare. [Animal Symbolism: Mercatante, 22; Gk. Lit.: Aesop, “The Tortoise and the Hare”]See: Determination
tortoiseperseverance helps him succeed where those inclined to dawdle fail. [Folklore: Jobes, 1590]See: Perseverancetortoise1. any herbivorous terrestrial chelonian reptile of the family Testudinidae, of most warm regions, having a heavy dome-shaped shell and clawed limbs 2. water tortoise another name for terrapintortoise
Words related to tortoisenoun usually herbivorous land turtles having clawed elephant-like limbsRelated Words- turtle
- family Testudinidae
- Testudinidae
- European tortoise
- Testudo graeca
- giant tortoise
- gopher tortoise
- gopher turtle
- Gopherus polypemus
- gopher
- desert tortoise
- Gopherus agassizii
- Texas tortoise
|