testudo

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: tes=tu=do

CIDE DICTIONARY

testudo, n. [L., from testa the shell of shellfish, or of testaceous animals.].

•  A genus of tortoises which formerly included a large number of diverse forms, but is now restricted to certain terrestrial species, such as the European land tortoise (Testudo Græca) and the gopher of the Southern United States.  [1913 Webster]
•  A cover or screen which a body of troops formed with their shields or targets, by holding them over their heads when standing close to each other. This cover resembled the back of a tortoise, and served to shelter the men from darts, stones, and other missiles. A similar defense was sometimes formed of boards, and moved on wheels.  [1913 Webster]
•  A kind of musical instrument. a species of lyre; -- so called in allusion to the lyre of Mercury, fabled to have been made of the shell of a tortoise.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

testudo, n. (pl. -os or testudines) Rom.Hist.
1 a screen formed by a body of troops in close array with overlapping shields.
2 a movable screen to protect besieging troops.

Etymology

L testudo -dinis, lit. 'tortoise' (as TEST(2))