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| Date: | 1400-1500 |
| Language: | Old French |
| Origin: | tortue, from Vulgar Latin tartaruca, from Late Latin tartaruchus 'of Tartarus', from Greek tartarouchos, from Tartaros 'Tartarus, the land of the dead in ancient stories'; because it used to be thought that tortoises and turtles came from hell |
HBA a slow-moving land animal that can pull its head and legs into the hard round shell that covers its body [↪ turtle]
