tartaruga

See also: tartarùga

Galician

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian tartaruga.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /taɾtaˈɾuɡa/ [t̪aɾ.t̪aˈɾu.ɣ̞ɐ]

• IPA^(key): (standard) /taɾtaˈɾuɡa/ [t̪aɾ.t̪aˈɾu.ɣ̞ɐ]
• IPA^(key): (gheada) /taɾtaˈɾuħa/ [t̪aɾ.t̪aˈɾu.ħɐ]

 

• Rhymes: -uɡa

• Rhymes: -uɡa
• Rhymes: -uħa

• Hyphenation: tar‧ta‧ru‧ga

Noun

tartaruga f (plural tartarugas)

1. turtle, tortoise

   Synonym: sapoconcho

Italian

Etymology

From Late Latin tartarucha, feminine form of tartaruchus, a mythological spirit of Greek origin, from Ancient Greek ταρταροῦχος (tartaroûkhos, “inhabitant of Tartarus”), from Τάρταρος (Tártaros). Compare French tortue, Spanish tortuga.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tar.taˈru.ɡa/
• Rhymes: -uɡa
• Hyphenation: tar‧ta‧rù‧ga

Noun

tartaruga f (plural tartarughe)

1. turtle, tortoise
2. tortoiseshell (carapace of a tortoise)
3. (military) testudo (Roman military formation)
4. (cooking) type of bread roll having a pattern of criss-cross incisions

   Synonym: pane tartaruga

5. (colloquial) clipping of addominali a tartaruga (“six pack (of one's abs)”)

Derived terms

• tartaruga azzannatrice (“snapping turtle”)
• tartaruga embricata (“hawksbill turtle”)
• tartaruga marina (“sea turtle”)
• tartaruga verde (“green turtle”)

Related terms

• tartarughina

Descendants

• → Galician: tartaruga
• → Portuguese: tartaruga
• → Spanish: tartaruga

See also

• testuggine

Further reading

• tartaruga in Collins Italian-English Dictionary
• tartaruga in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
• tartaruga in Aldo Gabrielli, Grandi Dizionario Italiano (Hoepli)
• tartaruga in garzantilinguistica.it – Garzanti Linguistica, De Agostini Scuola Spa
• tartarùga in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication
• tartaruga in sapere.it – De Agostini Editore
• “tartaruga”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Anagrams

• targatura

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian tartaruga, from Late Latin tartarucha, feminine of tartaruchus, from Ancient Greek ταρταροῦχος (tartaroûkhos, “inhabitant of Tartarus”), from Τάρταρος (Tártaros, “Tartarus”).

Sense 3 comes from the shape of a cat's eye that resembles a turtle shell.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /taʁ.taˈɾu.ɡɐ/ [tah.taˈɾu.ɡɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /taʁ.taˈɾu.ɡɐ/ [tah.taˈɾu.ɡɐ]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /taɾ.taˈɾu.ɡɐ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /taʁ.taˈɾu.ɡɐ/ [taχ.taˈɾu.ɡɐ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /taɻ.taˈɾu.ɡɐ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /tɐɾ.tɐˈɾu.ɡɐ/ [tɐɾ.tɐˈɾu.ɣɐ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /tɐɾ.tɐˈɾu.ɡɐ/ [tɐɾ.tɐˈɾu.ɣɐ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /tɐɾ.tɐˈɾu.ɡɐ/

• Rhymes: -uɡɐ
• Hyphenation: tar‧ta‧ru‧ga

Noun

tartaruga f (plural tartarugas)

1. turtle (any reptile of the order Testudines)

   Synonyms: quelônio / quelónio, testudíneo

   Hyponyms: cágado, jabuti, tartaruga-marinha

2. (strictly) sea turtle

   Synonym: tartaruga-marinha

4. (colloquial) cat's eye (traffic retroreflective device)

   Synonyms: tachão, olho de gato

5. (figuratively, colloquial) a slow person

Derived terms

• tartaruga-cabeçuda
• tartaruga-da-amazônia / tartaruga-da-amazónia
• tartaruga-de-couro
• tartaruga-de-galápagos
• tartaruga-de-pente
• tartaruga-do-amazonas
• tartaruga-do-mar
• tartaruga-marinha
• tartaruga-matamatá
• tartaruga-oliva
• tartaruga-verde
• tartarugazinha
• tartarugazona
• tartarugona
• tartaruguinha

Descendants

• → Manado Malay: tuturuga

Further reading

• “tartaruga”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “tartaruga”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2026
• “tartaruga” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “tartaruga”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “tartaruga”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “tartaruga”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese tartaruga.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taɾtaˈɾuɡa/ [t̪aɾ.t̪aˈɾu.ɣ̞a]
• Rhymes: -uɡa
• Syllabification: tar‧ta‧ru‧ga

Noun

tartaruga f (plural tartarugas)

1. turtle (any reptile of the order Testudines)

   Synonyms: tortuga, quelonio

2. (figuratively, colloquial) (a slow person)

Derived terms

• tartarugo