Dictionary

tortoiseshell en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈtɔː(ɹ)təsˌʃɛl/
• /ˈtɔː(ɹ)təˌʃɛl/

Etymology

From tortoise + shell.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable) Made of the covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle.
2. (not-comparable) Having markings resembling covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle.
   • Speaking of round sunglasses, these lightweight polarized ones and come in two shades of tortoiseshell as well as black and bronze. 2023 June 26, Lauren Caruso and Jillian Tracy, “The 22 best sunglasses for summer, according to style experts”, in CNN, archived from the original on 14 Apr 2025:

Deriveds

tortoiseshell cat

Translations (5)

de aus Schildpatt (made of covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle) · tr kaplumbağa kabuğu (made of covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle) · cs želvovinový (made of covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle) · es de carey (made of covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle) · pl szylkretowy (made of covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle)

tortoiseshell en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈtɔː(ɹ)təsˌʃɛl/
• /ˈtɔː(ɹ)təˌʃɛl/

Etymology

From tortoise + shell.

Meanings

1. (uncountable, usually) The horny, translucent, mottled covering of the carapace of the hawksbill turtle, used as a veneer etc.
2. (uncountable, usually) The hawksbill turtle.
3. (uncountable, usually) A domestic cat (or a rabbit, guinea-pig, etc.) whose fur has black, brown and yellow markings.
4. (uncountable, usually) Any of several butterflies, mostly of the genera Nymphalis and Aglais that have similar markings.
   • Other common farmland butterflies to have suffered steep declines include the small tortoiseshell (64%), the wall brown (37%) and the large skipper (35%). 2015 November 24, Patrick Barkham, “Pesticide may be reason butterfly numbers are falling in UK, says study”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2016:

Forms

Deriveds

large tortoiseshell · small tortoiseshell · torbie · tortoise-shell bamboo · tortoiseshell bracket

Synonyms

tort (cat etc.) · tortie (cat etc.)

Translations (17)

de Schildpatt (pet whose fur has black, brown and yellow markings) · fr écaille de tortue (pet whose fur has black, brown and yellow markings) · pl szylkret (pet whose fur has black, brown and yellow markings) · fi nokkosperhonen (type of butterfly) · pl szylkret (type of butterfly) · es carey (covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle) · nl vos (type of butterfly) · cy trilliw (type of butterfly) · cmn 玳瑁 (pet whose fur has black, brown and yellow markings) · tr kaplumbağa kabuğu (covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle) · gu કચકડું (covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle) · ja べっ甲 (covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle) · cs želvovina (covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle) · pl szylkret (covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle) · de Fuchs (type of butterfly) · de Schildpatt (covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle) · ja 鼈甲 (covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle)