tor ‧ toise /ˈtɔːtəs $ ˈtɔːr-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: tortue , from Vulgar Latin tartaruca , from Late Latin tartaruchus 'of Tartarus' , from Greek tartarouchos , from Tartaros 'Tartarus, the land of the dead in ancient stories' ; because it used to be thought that tortoises and turtles came from hell ]
a slow-moving land animal that can pull its head and legs into the hard round shell that covers its body ⇨ turtle