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testudo

Definitions

  • WordNet 3.6
    • n Testudo type genus of the Testudinidae
    • n testudo a movable protective covering that provided protection from above; used by Roman troops when approaching the walls of a besieged fortification
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
    • Testudo (Rom. Antiq) A cover or screen which a body of troops formed with their shields or targets, by holding them over their heads when standing close to each other. This cover resembled the back of a tortoise, and served to shelter the men from darts, stones, and other missiles. A similar defense was sometimes formed of boards, and moved on wheels.
    • Testudo (Zoöl) A genus of tortoises which formerly included a large number of diverse forms, but is now restricted to certain terrestrial species, such as the European land tortoise (Testudo Græca) and the gopher of the Southern United States.
    • Testudo (Mus) A kind of musical instrument. a species of lyre; -- so called in allusion to the lyre of Mercury, fabled to have been made of the shell of a tortoise.
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Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
    • n testudo Among the ancient Romans, a defensive cover or screen which a body of troops formed by overlapping above their heads their oblong shields when in close array. This cover somewhat resembled the back of a tortoise, and served to shelter the men from missiles thrown from above. The name was also given to a structure movable on wheels or rollers for protecting sappers. Formerly also called snail.
    • n testudo A shelter similar in shape and design to the above, employed as a defense by miners and others when working in ground or rock which is liable to cave in.
    • n testudo In medicine, an encysted tumor, which has been supposed to resemble the shell of a turtle. Also called talpa.
    • n testudo [capitalized] In herpetology, the typical genus of Testudinidæ, of widely varying limits with different authors, and much confused with Cistudo. It now contains such tortoises as T. græca of Europe and some others. See cut on following page, also that under Testudinata.
    • n testudo In anatomy, the fornix: more fully called testudo cerebri. See cerebrum.
    • n testudo In ancient music, a species of lyre: so called in allusion to the lyre of Mercury, fabled to have been made of the shell of the sea-tortoise. The name was also extended in medieval music to the lute.
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Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
    • n Testudo a cover for the protection of Roman soldiers attacking a wall, formed by overlapping their oblong shields above their heads: any similarly shaped shelter for miners, &c.: an encysted tumour: the fornix: a kind of lyre, the lute
    • ***

Etymology

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
L., from testa, the shell of shellfish, or of testaceous animals
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
L. testudo, -inis, the tortoise.

Usage

In literature:

TESTUDO ABINGDONII, GALAPAGOS ISLANDS.
"A Naturalist's Voyage Round the World" by Charles Darwin
The turtle that frequents the North-east Coast, in the neighbourhood of Endeavour River, is a variety of the Testudo mydas.
"Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]" by Phillip Parker King
Invisible animals took it up, particle by particle, to build a testudo, a traveling house, for themselves.
"Among the Forces" by Henry White Warren
Testudo longicollis, Shaw Gen. Zool.
"Journals Of Two Expeditions Of Discovery In North-West And Western Australia, Vol. 2 (of 2)" by George Grey
You must have caught this near the sea, as it is a specie of turtle called the Testudo.
"The Wonder Island Boys: Conquest of the Savages" by Roger Thompson Finlay
An English lute with a double neck (Testudo theorbata) made about 1650.
"Musical Myths and Facts, Volume I (of 2)" by Carl Engel
Used in describing the testudo.
"An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language" by John Jamieson
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In news:

Maryland's Testudo in mascot challenge (Video).
washingtonpost.com
The Capital One Mascot Challenge is upon us, and once again Testudo is in the field of furries competing for the title.
washingtonpost.com
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