turtle English · revision 15044
17 Oct 2026, 15:06 by bogdan “en10k b0416: sack … bake” current version
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+ Turtle, the dove, is an old word from Latin; turtle, the reptile, is a later sailors' alteration of French tortue.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Cresswell 2021)
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: UK /ˈtɜː.təl/, US /ˈtɝː.t̬əl/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+
+ {{homograph|1|dove}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1000|origins=la turtur}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The dove is [[inh|enm|turtel]], [[inh|ang|turtle]], also [[m|ang|turtla]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) [[bor|la|turtur|t=turtledove]], imitating the bird's cooing.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) It is related to [[goh|turtulo]] (modern [[de|Turteltaube]]).^(Hoad 1986)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The turtledove: about 1000.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Graceful and devoted to its mate, the turtle was a term of endearment in Middle English and a symbol of married love.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Turtledove'' is from about 1300,^(Etymonline) and the word is now rare or obsolete on its own.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 1000 – turtle, the dove.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+ * c. 1300 – turtledove.^(Etymonline)
+ * 15th century – a term of endearment.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''(archaic)'' A [[turtledove]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[turtledove]]
+
+ {{homograph|2|reptile}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=1657}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The reptile is [[bor|fr|tortue|t=turtle, tortoise]] in altered form, influenced by turtle, the dove.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) English sailors probably gave it the name.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) The French word is of unknown or uncertain origin;^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) Barnhart and Merriam-Webster explain it through [[la-vul|*tartarūca|t=beast of Tartarus]], from [[la-lat|tartarūchus|t=of the underworld]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A marine tortoise: 1657, in a translation of Plutarch's Lives.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It was later extended to land tortoises.^(Etymonline) Turtle flesh as food is from 1755, and turtle soup by 1763.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Catching turtles by turning them on their backs is recorded from 1689, and ''to turn turtle'', to capsize, by 1818.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1657 – a sea turtle.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1689 – to turn turtles.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1755 – turtle meat.^(OED 1989)
+ * by 1818 – to turn turtle, capsize.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # Any of various reptiles of the order Testudines, with a bony or leathery shell into which most can withdraw the head and limbs.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # A sea turtle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ===Verb===
+ # To hunt for turtles.^(AHD)
+ # To capsize; to turn turtle.^(AHD)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[turtleneck]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[tortoise]]
+ * [[dove]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ The classical Latin word for a tortoise was [[la|testūdō]].^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}