tortoise-shell, n. (a.)
(ˈtɔːtəsˌʃɛl, colloq. ˈtɔːtəʃɛl)
1. The shell, esp. the upper shell or carapace, of a tortoise, consisting of horny scales covering the dermal skeleton. a. with a and pl.
| 1601 Holland Pliny ix. x. I. 241 Among the Islands principally in the red sea, they use Tortoise shells..for boats and wherries. 1644 Evelyn Diary 21 Mar., Curiosities of ivory and tortoise-shells. a 1843 Southey Common-pl. Bk. Ser. ii. (1849) 570 In Yucatan they made a musical instrument of the tortoise-shell, preserved whole. 1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting 388 A drink of muddy water..out of a dirty tortoise-shell. |
b. As a material (without a or pl.): The shell of certain tortoises, esp. that of the hawk's-bill turtle, Chelone imbricata, which is semi-transparent, with a mottled or clouded coloration, and is extensively used in ornamental work, as inlaying, etc.
| 1632 Earl of Cork Diary in Lismore Papers Ser. i. (1886) III. 132 A cabbonett of Torties shell. 1688 R. Holme Armoury ii. 206/1 The Turks have a kind of Tortois-shell..of which they make hafts for Knives. 1703 W. Dampier Voy. III. i. 81 The Hawksbill-Turtle..of Brazil is most sought after..for its Shell, which..is the clearest and best-clouded Tortoise-shell in the World. 1756 M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitl. Club) 199 A bit of horn or tortyshell. 1768 Holdsworth On Virgil 131 Some of the Romans were so extravagant as to cover their doors and door-cases with Indian tortoise-shell. 1779 Forrest Voy. N. Guinea 112 At Krudo, and the islands near it, may be got much tortoiseshell. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xv, The tortershell would have affected the brain. 1841 Lane Arab. Nts. I. 123 Made of wood,..inlaid with mother-of-pearl, tortoise-shell, etc. |
† 2. = tortoise 2 a and b. Obs.
| a 1661 B. Holyday Juvenal ii. (1673) 29/2 Like souldiers,..when..they cast themselves..into the military figure of the testudo, or the torteise-shell. 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 68 The ditch..will hinder the moveable Tortoise-shell..from approaching the wall. |
3. Short for (a) tortoise-shell cat, (b) tortoise-shell butterfly: see 4 b.
| 1840 P. Parley's Ann. 113 Oh, what a pretty little kitten! what a beautiful little dear tortoiseshell! 1884 Pall Mall G. 12 Aug. 3/2 A splendid specimen of the large tortoise-shell was fluttering about Westminster Bridge. 1903 Westm. Gaz. 11 Aug. 10/2 Of all flowers..that which the Red Admirals, Peacocks, and Tortoiseshells seem to like best is peppermint. 1903 F. Simpson Bk. Cat xvii. 208 Real tortoiseshells may be called tricolour cats, for they should bear three colours.., namely black, red, and yellow, in distinct patches or blotches. |
4. attrib. or as adj. a. Made of tortoise-shell.
| 1651 in Verney Mem. (1904) I. 480 His toilet equipment includes..12 Tortus shell Agendas, 2 gold picktooths. 1652 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. i. 38 Fyue torter shell spoones. 1683 Lond. Gaz. No. 1809/4 A great Tortoise-shell Comb, in a Case of the same. 1689 Ibid. No. 2416/4 A very large Tortoise-shell Tobacco Box. 1836–9 Dickens Sk. Boz, Doctors' Commons, A very fat and red-faced gentleman, in tortoise-shell spectacles. |
b. Having the colouring or appearance of tortoise-shell; mottled or variegated with black, red, and yellow, or similar colours; spec. tortoise-shell butterfly, one of several butterflies, esp. the European Vanessa urticæ and V. polychlorus, and the American Aglais milberti; tortoise-shell cat, a domestic cat of this colour; tortoise-shell goose (see quot. 1885); tortoise-shell palm (see quot. 1902); tortoise-shell tiger (see tiger n. 1 b); tortoise-shell ware, a fine kind of pottery coloured with oxide of copper and manganese.
| 1782 W. Curtis Brown-tail Moth 6 The Papilio Urticæ, and Iö, small Tortoise-shell and Peacock Butterflies. 1791 Huddesford Salmag., Monody death Dick 141 Cats..sable, sandy, grey, and tortoiseshell. 1803 Shaw Gen. Zool. IV. 471 Tortoise-shell Sparus..: colour brown, with a strong suffusion of pale yellow. 1804 Ibid. V. 444 Tortoise-shell Tetrodon... The Linnæan name [Tetrodon testudineus] of this fish is supposed to have been given from its tortoise-like beak, but perhaps, with more propriety, from its variegated skin. 1858 Lytton What will he do i. xiv, They kept a tortoise-shell cat and a canary. 1879 [see agate-ware s.v. agate 6]. 1885 Swainson Provinc. Names Birds 148 White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)... Tortoise-shell goose (Ireland). From the mottled markings on the abdomen. 1902 P. Fountain Mounts. & Forests S. Amer. x. 270 The tortoise-shell palm..the leaves of which are so hard, and withal flexible, that combs, spoons, and ornamental articles are made of it. 1903 F. Simpson Bk. Cat xxv. 284 The tortoiseshell tom is a most rare and uncommon animal. 1975 Country Life 9 Oct. 898/2 (caption) 19th-century teapot similar to Whieldon's tortoiseshell ware. |
c. Producing tortoise-shell: tortoise-shell turtle, the hawk's-bill turtle, or other species from which tortoise-shell is obtained.
| 1886 Mivart in Encycl. Brit. XX. 446/2 In the other Chelonians there are large epidermal shields, which may overlap, as in the Tortoise-shell Turtle (C[helonia] imbricata) and others. |
5. Comb., as tortoiseshell-producing adj., tortoise-shell worker.
| 1883 W. S. Kent in A. J. Adderley Fisheries Bahamas 31 (Fish. Exhib. Publ.) The edible turtle (Chelone midas) and the tortoiseshell-producing variety (Caretta imbricata)..among the marine products of the Bahamas. 1903 [see cementer]. 1931 P. A. S. Phillips (title) John Obrisset Huguenot: carver, medallist, horn and tortoiseshell worker. |