OXFORD 9000
📚 noun • entry_id 2029

tortoise

/ˈtɔɹ.təs/
Meanings (ES + gloss)
galápago • morrocota • morrocoy • morrocoyo • tequeteque • tortuga • tortuga terrestre
Any of various land-dwelling reptiles, of the family Testudinidae (chiefly Canada, US) or the order Testudines (chiefly UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, India), whose body is enclosed in a shell (carapace plus plastron). The animal can withdraw its head and four legs partially into the shell, providing some protection from predators.
The tortoise, with its characteristic protrusion of the head and neck, was a symbol sacred to Venus. It represented the procreative principle.
Word forms