I. ˈtər-t ə l noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English turtla, from Latin turtur
Date: before 12th century
archaic : turtledove
II. noun
( plural turtles also turtle )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: modification of French tortue, from Late Latin ( bestia ) tartarucha, feminine of tartaruchus of Tartarus, from Greek tartarouchos, from Tartaros Tartarus; from Mithraic and early Christian association of the turtle with infernal forces
Date: 1612
: any of an order (Testudines syn. Chelonia) of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine reptiles that have a toothless horny beak and a shell of bony dermal plates usually covered with horny shields enclosing the trunk and into which the head, limbs, and tail usually may be withdrawn
III. noun
Date: 1952
: turtleneck