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The word with the spelling tortoise first appears in 1552, prior to which it was spelt/spelled in various ways in Middle English e.g. tortuse/tortuce/tortuge. It is believed that the spelling became standardized as tortoiseby following the pattern of spelling for 'porpoise.'

These words are from the Latin tortuca (about 1255), which, in turn, is perhaps from Latin tartaruchus, meaning "of the underworld".

However, tortuca may also have come from Latin tortus "twisted," due to the shape of this creature's feet. The Classical Latin word for a tortoise was word testudo, from testa meaning "shell."For more information, see 'Related links' below.

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16y ago

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