tortoiseshell
/ˈtɔː(ɹ)təˌʃɛl/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.36 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The horny, translucent, mottled covering of the carapace of the hawksbill turtle, used as a veneer etc.
Uncountable
noun
A domestic cat (or a rabbit, guinea-pig, etc.) whose fur has black, brown and yellow markings.
Uncountable
noun
Any of several butterflies, mostly of the genera Nymphalis and Aglais that have similar markings.
Uncountable
adj
Made of the covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle.
adj
Having markings resembling covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle.
Example Sentences
- "Other common farmland butterflies to have suffered steep declines include the small tortoiseshell (64%), the wall brown (37%) and the large skipper (35%)."
- "Speaking of round sunglasses, these lightweight polarized ones and come in two shades of tortoiseshell as well as black and bronze."