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turtle

UK/ˈtɜːtl̩/ US/ˈtɝtl̩/ common slang uk us
noun (1) verb (2)

noun

1.

any of various aquatic and land reptiles having a bony shell and flipper-like limbs for swimming

verb

1.
2.

hunt for turtles, especially as an occupation

Origin

Modification of Middle English tortou, tortu, from Old French tortüe (under the influence of Middle English turtel, turtur (“turtledove”), see Etymology 2 below), from Old Occitan tortuga (compare Spanish tortuga), the same source of tortoise (see there for more). Displaced native Old English byrdling (See birdling).

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.