tortoiseshell
tortoiseshell Lexical Profile
tortoiseshell Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Having a mottled or brindled pattern of yellow, orange, brown, and black markings resembling the shell of a turtle.
"The optometrist recommended a pair of classic tortoiseshell glasses to complement her warm skin tone."
• noun
The translucent, mottled yellow and brown outer shell of certain sea turtles (especially the hawksbill turtle), or a synthetic material imitating it, used to make combs, eyeglass frames, and jewelry.
"Antique grooming kits often feature hairbrushes and combs crafted from genuine tortoiseshell."
A domestic cat having a mottled or brindled coat of black, red, orange, and cream with little or no white, almost always female due to sex-linked genetics.
"We adopted a gentle tortoiseshell from the local animal shelter last weekend."
Any of several brush-footed butterflies of the family Nymphalidae (genera Aglais and Nymphalis) native to Eurasia and North America, characterized by jagged wing edges and mottled orange, black, and yellow markings.
"A small tortoiseshell fluttered across the garden and landed on the blooming buddleia."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the early 17th century as a compound of 'tortoise' and 'shell', originally referring to the translucent, mottled shell plates of marine hawksbill turtles used for decorative inlay and luxury combs.