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