Tur"tle (?), n. [AS. turtle, L. turtur; probably of imitative origin. Cf. Turtle the sea tortoise.] (Zoöl.) The turtledove.

Tur"tle , n. [Probably the same word as the word preceding, and substituted (probably by sailors) for the Spanish or Portuguese name; cf. Sp. tortuga tortoise, turtle, Pg. tartaruga, also F. tortue, and E. tortoise.]

1. (Zoöl.) Any one of the numerous species of Testudinata, especially a sea turtle, or chelonian.

☞ In the United States the land and fresh-water tortoises are also called turtles.

2. (Printing) The curved plate in which the form is held in a type-revolving cylinder press.

Alligator turtle, Box turtle, etc. See under Alligator, Box, etc. -- green turtle (Zoöl.), a marine turtle of the genus Chelonia, having usually a smooth greenish or olive-colored shell. It is highly valued for the delicacy of its flesh, which is used especially for turtle soup. Two distinct species or varieties are known; one of which (Chelonia Midas) inhabits the warm part of the Atlantic Ocean, and sometimes weighs eight hundred pounds or more; the other (C. virgata) inhabits the Pacific Ocean. Both species are similar in habits and feed principally on seaweed and other marine plants, especially the turtle grass. -- Turtle cowrie (Zoöl.), a large, handsome cowrie (Cypræa testudinaria); the turtle-shell; so called because of its fancied resemblance to a tortoise in color and form. -- Turtle grass (Bot.), a marine plant (Thalassia testudinum) with grasslike leaves, common about the West Indies. -- Turtle shell, tortoise shell. See under Tortoise.

-- Webster's unabridged 1913