The Collaborative International Dictionary
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.]
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(Zo["o]l.) Any one of the numerous species of Testudinata, especially a sea turtle, or chelonian.
Note: In the United States the land and fresh-water tortoises are also called turtles.
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(Printing) The curved plate in which the form is held in a type-revolving cylinder press.
Alligator turtle, Box turtle, etc. See under Alligator, Box, etc.
green turtle (Zo["o]l.), a marine turtle of the genus Chelonia, having usually a smooth greenish or olive-colored shell. It is highly valued for the delicacy of its flesh, which is used especially for turtle soup. Two distinct species or varieties are known; one of which ( Chelonia Midas) inhabits the warm part of the Atlantic Ocean, and sometimes weighs eight hundred pounds or more; the other ( Chelonia virgata) inhabits the Pacific Ocean. Both species are similar in habits and feed principally on seaweed and other marine plants, especially the turtle grass.
Turtle cowrie (Zo["o]l.), a large, handsome cowrie ( Cypr[ae]a testudinaria); the turtle-shell; so called because of its fancied resemblance to a tortoise in color and form.
Turtle grass (Bot.), a marine plant ( Thalassia testudinum) with grasslike leaves, common about the West Indies.
Turtle shell, tortoise shell. See under Tortoise.
Wikipedia
The turtle shell is a highly complicated shield for the ventral and dorsal parts of turtles, tortoises and terrapins (all classified as "turtles" by zoologists), completely enclosing all the vital organs of the turtle and in some cases even the head. It is constructed of modified bony elements such as the ribs, parts of the pelvis and other bones found in most reptiles. The bone of the shell consists of both skeletal and dermal bone, showing that the complete enclosure of the shell probably evolved by including dermal armor into the rib cage.
The shell of the turtle is an important study, not just because of the obvious protection it provides for the animal, but also as an identification tool, in particular with fossils as the shell is one of the likely parts of a turtle to survive fossilization. Hence understanding the structure of the shell in living species gives us comparable material with fossils.
The shell of the hawksbill turtle, among other species, has been used as a material for a wide range of small decorative and practical items since antiquity, but is normally referred to as tortoiseshell.
Usage examples of "turtle shell".
I was huddled behind a turtle shell, shielding myself from the flying fish.
And suddenly they were climbing, and at a greater speed than Tachyon had ever experienced with the turtle shell.
She fixed her eyes upon the trail and thought of her turtle shell at home.
Then he touched his signet ring to the blank place below her name, leaving behind the imprint of a turtle shell cut by a large letter C.
There was bone jewelry and shell cups, ladles, a deer head, a carved fish with bits of turtle shell stuck into it, and some terrible wood masks worn by the shamans.