Tartaruga
/tɐɾ.tɐˈɾu.ɡɐ/noun
A turtle or tortoise, especially in Portuguese and related Romance languages.
Did you know?The medieval Latin form was linked by scholars to Greek *tartarouchos*, “inhabiting Tartarus,” though the exact origin of the turtle name remains debated.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
ταρταροῦχος (tartarouchos)
“Inhabiting or belonging to Tartarus, the underworld abyss”
Late Antiquity
Greek/Latin
tartaroūchos / tartarūcha
“A term associated with a turtle or tortoise; its connection with Tartarus was probably interpretive or folk-etymological”
Medieval Latin
Latin
tartaruca
“Turtle or tortoise”
13th–14th Century
Old Italian
tartaruga
“Turtle or tortoise”
13th–15th Century
Portuguese
tartaruga
“Turtle or tortoise”
Modern English
English loanword
tartaruga
“A turtle or tortoise, chiefly used in zoological, historical, or Romance-language contexts”