turtle

turtle
\ \ Turtle the dove [OE] and turtle the marine reptile [17] are different words. The former was borrowed from Latin turtur, which no doubt originated in imitation of the bird’s cooing. It is now encountered only in the compound turtledove, first recorded in the 13th century. Turtle the reptile is more of a mystery. It is generally assumed to be an alteration of French tortuetortoise’ (source of English tortoise [15]), but since it is not known where that came from, it does not get us much further. The expression turn turtle (which dates from the 19th century) alludes to the practice of sailors turning turtles over on to their backs, like beetles, so that they were helpless and could be easily captured.
\ \ Cf.TORTOISE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Turtle — Tur tle, n. [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.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Zo[ o]l.)… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Turtle — (englisch für Schildkröte) bezeichnet: Turtle F2F, ein p2p Instant Messenger zum Tauschen von Dateien über geprüfte Freundeskontakte Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Comicfiguren Turtle (U Boot), ein U Boot aus dem Jahre 1776 Turtle (DSV 3), ein… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • turtle — [tʉrt′ l] n. pl. turtles or turtle [altered, prob. infl. by TURTLE(DOVE) < Fr tortue, tortoise < VL * tartaruca: see TORTOISE] 1. any of a large and widely distributed order (Testudines) of terrestrial or aquatic reptiles having a toothless …   English World dictionary

  • turtle — the dove [OE] and turtle the marine reptile [17] are different words. The former was borrowed from Latin turtur, which no doubt originated in imitation of the bird’s cooing. It is now encountered only in the compound turtledove, first recorded in …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • Turtle — Tur tle, n. [AS. turtle, L. turtur; probably of imitative origin. Cf. {Turtle} the sea tortoise.] (Zo[ o]l.) The turtledove. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • turtle — ► NOUN 1) a marine or freshwater reptile with a bony or leathery shell and flippers or webbed toes. 2) Computing a directional cursor in a computer graphics system which can be instructed to move around a screen. ● turn turtle Cf. ↑turn turtle… …   English terms dictionary

  • Turtle [1] — Turtle (engl., spr. Tort l), 1) Turteltaube; 2) Schildkröte, bes. die Riesen , gemeine u. griechische Schildkröte …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Turtle [2] — Turtle, 1) (T. Island, spr. Tort l Eiländ, Batoa, Bittoa), Insel des Fidschiarchipels (Polynesien); 1773 von Cook entdeckt; 2) T. Islands, spr. Tort l Eiländs), so v.w. Schildkröteninseln …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Turtle — (engl., spr. törtl), Schildkröte; Turteltaube …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Turtle — Diary    Comédie dramatique de John Irvin, avec Glenda Jackson, Ben Kingsley, Harriet Walter, Michael Gambon.   Pays: Grande Bretagne   Date de sortie: 1985   Technique: couleurs   Durée: 1 h 36    Résumé    Trois personnages à la dérive, trois… …   Dictionnaire mondial des Films

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