different between tuatara vs tortoise

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Maori tuatara.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tu???t????/
• Hyphenation: tu?a?ta?ra

Noun

tuatara (plural tuataras or tuatara)

1. Either of two reptiles, Sphenodon punctatus and Sphenodon guntheri, native to New Zealand, that resemble lizards.

Translations

See also

• Sphenodon

Further reading

• tuatara on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Maori

Etymology

Said to be from tua (“on the back”) +? tara (“spine”).

Noun

tuatara

1. tuatara

English

Etymology

From Middle English tortuse, tortuce, tortuge, from Medieval Latin tortuca, of uncertain origin. May be from Late Latin tartar?cha, from tartar?chus, from Ancient Greek ??????????? (tartaroûkhos, “holder of Tartaros, Tartarus, the land of the dead in ancient stories”), because it used to be thought that tortoises and turtles came from the underworld and they were commonly paired with such infernal beasts; or from Latin tortus (“twisted”). Displaced native Old English byrdling.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?t???.t?s/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?t??.t?s/
  • (UK, also) IPA^(key): /?t???t??s/
• Rhymes: -??(?)t?s

Noun

tortoise (plural tortoises)

1. Any of various land-dwelling reptiles, of the family Testudinidae (chiefly Canada, US) or the order Testudines (chiefly Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, India), whose body is enclosed in a shell (carapace plus plastron). The animal can withdraw its head and four legs partially into the shell, providing some protection from predators.

   Synonym: (obsolete) shellpad

Usage notes

Differences exist in usage of the common terms turtle, tortoise, and terrapin, depending on the variety of English being used. In American usage, turtle is often a general term; tortoise is used only in reference to terrestrial turtles or, more narrowly, only those members of Testudinidae, the family of modern land tortoises; and terrapin may refer to turtles that are small and live in fresh and brackish water.

British and Commonwealth usage, by contrast, tends not to use turtle as a generic term for all members of the order but instead as a synonym for sea turtle specifically, and also applies the term tortoises broadly to all land-dwelling members of the order Testudines, regardless of whether they are actually members of the family Testudinidae.

Land tortoises are not native to Australia, yet traditionally freshwater turtles have been called tortoises in Australia.

Derived terms

• pancake tortoise
• tortoise-like, tortoiselike
• tortoise shell, tortoise-shell

Translations

See also

• terrapin
• turtle

Further reading

• tortoise on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• rootiest