tortoise Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun usually herbivorous land turtles having clawed elephant-like limbs; worldwide in arid area except Australia and Antarctica

WordNet

Tor"toise noun
Etymology
OE. tortuce, fr. OF. tortis crooked, fr. L. tortus isted, crooked, contorted, p.p. of torquere, tortum, to wind; cf. F. tortue tortoise, LL. tortuca, tartuca, Pr. tortesa crookedness, tortis crooked. so called in allusion to its crooked feet. See Torture.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of reptiles of the order Testudinata. ✍ The term is applied especially to the land and fresh-water species, while the marine species are generally called turtles, but the terms tortoise and turtle are used synonymously by many writers. see Testudinata, Terrapin, and Turtle.
  2. (Rom. Antiq.) Same as Testudo, 2. tortoise-shell, adj. having a color like that aof a toroise's shell, black with white and orange spots; -- used mostly to describe cats of that color. n. a tortoise-shell cat.

Webster 1913