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Webster 1913 Edition

Testudo

‖

Tes-tu′do

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Testudines
(#)
.
[L., from
testa
the shell of shellfish, or of testaceous animals.]
1.
(Zool.)
A genus of tortoises which formerly included a large number of diverse forms, but is now restricted to certain terrestrial species, such as the European land tortoise (
Testudo Graeca
) and the gopher of the Southern United States.
2.
(Rom. Antiq.)
A cover or screen which a body of troops formed with their shields or targets, by holding them over their heads when standing close to each other. This cover resembled the back of a tortoise, and served to shelter the men from darts, stones, and other missiles. A similar defense was sometimes formed of boards, and moved on wheels.
3.
(Mus.)
A kind of musical instrument. a species of lyre; – so called in allusion to the lyre of Mercury, fabled to have been made of the shell of a tortoise.

Webster 1828 Edition

Testudo

TESTU'DO

,
Noun.
[L.] A tortoise. Among the Romans, a cover or screen which a body of troops formed with their shields or targets, by holding them over their heads when standing close to each other. This cover resembled the back of a tortoise, and served to shelter the men from darts, stones, and other missiles. A similar defense was sometimes formed of boards and moved on wheels.
1.
In medicine, a broad soft tumor between the skull and the skin, called also talpa or mole, as resembling the subterraneous windings of the tortoise or mole.

Definition 2024

Testudo

Testudo

See also: testudo

Translingual

Testudo graeca

Proper noun

Testudo f

  1. A taxonomic genus within the family Testudinidae – tortoises found in southern Europe, north Africa, and western Asia.

Hypernyms

Hyponyms

testudo

testudo

See also: Testudo

English

Noun

testudo ‎(plural testudos or testudoes or testudines)

  1. (historical, Roman antiquity) A shelter formed by a body of troops by holding their shields or targets close together over their heads.
  2. (music) A kind of lyre; so called in allusion to the lyre of Mercury, fabled to have been made of the shell of a tortoise.

Esperanto

Etymology

From Latin testūdō ‎(“tortoise”).

Noun

testudo ‎(accusative singular testudon, plural testudoj, accusative plural testudojn)

  1. tortoise, turtle

Derived terms

Latin

Etymology

From testa ‎(“fragment of earthenware; shell or covering”).

Pronunciation

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /tesˈtuː.doː/, [tɛsˈtuː.doː]
  • (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /tesˈtu.do/, [tesˈtuː.do]

Noun

testūdō f ‎(genitive testūdinis); third declension

  1. tortoise, turtle
  2. tortoise-shell
  3. (by extension) lyre, lute
  4. (by extension, military) covering, shed, shelter
  5. (by extension, in buildings) arch, vault

Inflection

Third declension.

Case Singular Plural
nominative testūdō testūdinēs
genitive testūdinis testūdinum
dative testūdinī testūdinibus
accusative testūdinem testūdinēs
ablative testūdine testūdinibus
vocative testūdō testūdinēs

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

References

  • testudo in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • testudo in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • TESTUDO in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
  • Félix Gaffiot (1934), “testudo”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
  • Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
    • to advance to the walls protected by a covering of shields: testudine facta moenia subire (B. G. 2. 6)
  • testudo in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • testudo in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
  • testudo in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Etymology

From Latin testūdō ‎(“tortoise, turtle”).

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