tortoiseshell

See also: tortoise shell and tortoise-shell

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

tortoiseshell

Wikipedia

Etymology

From tortoise +‎ shell.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɔː(ɹ)təˌʃɛl/
• IPA^(key): /ˈtɔː(ɹ)təsˌʃɛl/

Noun

tortoiseshell (usually uncountable, plural tortoiseshells)

1. The horny, translucent, mottled covering of the carapace of the hawksbill turtle, used as a veneer etc.
2. The hawksbill turtle.
3. A domestic cat (or a rabbit, guinea-pig, etc.) whose fur has black, brown and yellow markings.
4. Any of several butterflies, mostly of the genera Nymphalis and Aglais that have similar markings.

Synonyms

• (cat etc.): tort (colloquial), tortie (colloquial)

Derived terms

• large tortoiseshell
• small tortoiseshell
• tortoiseshell bracket

Translations

covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle

Czech: želvovina (cs) f German: Schildpatt (de) n Gujarati: કચકડું (kacakḍũ) Japanese: 鼈甲 (ja) (べっこう, bekkō), べっ甲 (ja) (bekkō) Polish: szylkret (pl) m Spanish: carey (es) m Turkish: kaplumbağa kabuğu (tr)

hawksbill turtle — see hawksbill turtle

pet whose fur has black, brown and yellow markings

Chinese: Mandarin: 玳瑁 (zh) (dàimào) French: écaille de tortue (fr) German: Schildpatt (de) n

type of butterfly

Dutch: vos (nl) m Finnish: nokkosperhonen (fi) German: Fuchs (de) m Welsh: trilliw m

Adjective

tortoiseshell (not comparable)

1. Made of the covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle.
2. Having markings resembling covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle.
   • 2023 June 26, Lauren Caruso and Jillian Tracy, “The 22 best sunglasses for summer, according to style experts”, in CNN‎:

     Speaking of round sunglasses, these lightweight polarized ones and come in two shades of tortoiseshell as well as black and bronze.

Derived terms

• tortoiseshell cat

Translations

made of covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle

Czech: želvovinový m German: aus Schildpatt (de) n Polish: szylkretowy (pl) Spanish: de carey (es) m Turkish: kaplumbağa kabuğu (tr)