testudo

n., pl., -dos.

1. A Roman siege device consisting of a movable screen protecting the besiegers' approach to a wall.
2. A cover formed by the overlapping shields of besiegers and held over their heads.

[Latin testūdō, from testa, shell.]

In Roman architecture, an arched vault or ceiling, esp. when surbased or flattened.

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[Ar]

A Latin word for a device used to maintain the temperature of a Roman bath. It consists of a water container of half-cylindrical section with one end opening into the bath; the flat base of the testudo was placed above a furnace flue forming its roof.

Genus of land tortoises in the family Testudinidae. Includes T. graeca (spur-thighed tortoise), T. hermannii (Hermann's tortoise). See also turtle.

[L.]  /tes TOO doe/  a cover of overlapping shields or a shed wheeled up to a wall used by the ancient Romans to protect an attacking force

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