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# testudo

noun (a testudo, testudos or testudines); (science) Testudo — a genus of tortoises

«testudo» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (history) A testudo was a Roman army formation: soldiers stood close together and held their shields in front of them and over their heads, like a tortoise's shell, to protect themselves from arrows and stones. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/testudo/#m1)
2. (science) Testudo is the scientific name of a group of tortoises, such as the Greek tortoise and Hermann's tortoise. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/testudo/#m2)

### In the lessons

History lessons on the Romans: the testudo («tortoise» in Latin) let legionaries move up to enemy walls safely; pupils sometimes act it out with cardboard shields. Science: many pet tortoises in the UK are from the genus Testudo.

### Examples

- The legionaries formed a testudo to protect themselves. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/testudo/#x1)
- In the testudo, the soldiers' shields made a roof. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/testudo/#x2)
- Testudo is Latin for tortoise. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/testudo/#x3)
- Our class made a testudo with cardboard shields. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/testudo/#x4)
- The arrows bounced off the testudo. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/testudo/#x5)
- Hermann's tortoise belongs to the genus Testudo. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/testudo/#x6)

### Note

Said «tes-TOO-doh». Latin word. Plural: testudos (or the Latin testudines). The science name is written with a capital T and in italics: Testudo.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «testudo» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/testudo/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«testudo» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/testudo.html) on Mova free.