noun
- The mottled horny substance of the shell of some turtles.
- Brilliantly colored; larvae feed on nettles.
- synonyms: tortoiseshell butterfly
- A cat having black and cream-colored and yellowish markings.
- synonyms: tortoiseshell-cat, calico cat
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). tortoiseshell. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/tortoiseshell/definitions/1198183 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "tortoiseshell" http://smartdefine.org/tortoiseshell/definitions/1198183 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, tortoiseshell, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/tortoiseshell/definitions/1198183>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "tortoiseshell" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/tortoiseshell/definitions/1198183> |