tortoiseshell

CEFRB2

/ˈtɔː(ɹ)təˌʃɛl/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

01
noun
A mottled brown, black, and yellow pattern or material.
02
noun
Extra detail
A domestic cat (or a rabbit, guinea-pig, etc.) whose fur has black, brown and yellow markings.

Examples

I have a tortoiseshell cat. She is so affectionate!
Other common farmland butterflies to have suffered steep declines include the small tortoiseshell (64%), the wall brown (37%) and the large skipper (35%).

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Also pronounced

Deep Dive

Extra meanings

The hawksbill turtle.
The horny, translucent, mottled covering of the carapace of the hawksbill turtle, used as a veneer etc.
Any of several butterflies, mostly of the genera Nymphalis and Aglais that have similar markings.

In context

Speaking of round sunglasses, these lightweight polarized ones and come in two shades of tortoiseshell as well as black and bronze.

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Question 1 · Quick check

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The word in print, with each source given in full.

Other common farmland butterflies to have suffered steep declines include the small tortoiseshell (64%), the wall brown (37%) and the large skipper (35%).
2015 November 24, Patrick Barkham, “Pesticide may be reason butterfly numbers are falling in UK, says study”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2016
Speaking of round sunglasses, these lightweight polarized ones and come in two shades of tortoiseshell as well as black and bronze.
2023 June 26, Lauren Caruso and Jillian Tracy, “The 22 best sunglasses for summer, according to style experts”, in CNN, archived from the original on 14 Apr 2025

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From tortoise + shell.