terrapin
Appearance
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From torup (“snapping turtle native to North America, especially the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)”)[1] or from its etymon Powhatan *tōrəp (“sea turtle”) + possibly English -ine (suffix forming derivative or diminutive nouns),[2] perhaps influenced by Latin terra (“dry land; soil; planet Earth”).[3] Cognate with Abenaki tolba (“turtle”), Penobscot dolba and Unami (pisëla)tulpe (“soft-shelled turtle”).
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈtɛɹəpɪn/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈtɛɹəˌpɪn/
- (Southern US) IPA(key): /ˈtæɹəˌpɪn/, /ˈtɛɚpɪn/, /ˈtɑɹpɪn/, /-ən/[4][5]
- Hyphenation: ter‧ra‧pin
Noun
[edit]terrapin (countable and uncountable, plural terrapins)
- (countable) Any of several small turtles of the families Emydidae and Geoemydidae found throughout the world.
- (countable, obsolete) Any turtle.
- 1751, [Tobias] Smollett, “He is Found by the Lieutenant; Reconducted to His Own House; Married to Mrs. Grizzle, […]”, in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC, page 27, column 2:
- The third ſervice was made up of a loin of freſh pork with apple-ſauce, a kid ſmothered with onions, and a terrapin baked in the ſhell; […]
- 1766, T[obias] Smollett, “Letter XIX”, in Travels through France and Italy. […], volume I, London: […] R[oberts] Baldwin, […], →OCLC, page 302:
- The land-turtle, or terrapin, is much better known at Nice, as being a native of this county; yet the beſt are brought from the iſland of Sardinia. The ſoup or bouillon of this animal is always preſcribed here as a great reſtorative to conſumptive patients.
- 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Town-ho’s Story (as Told at the Golden Inn)”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, footnote, page 269:
- The ancient whale-cry [i.e., "town-ho"] upon first sighting a whale from the masthead, still used by whalemen in hunting the famous Gallipagos terrapin.
- (countable, obsolete) Any of several small turtles native to North America that live in brackish or fresh water, especially the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin).
- 1862, Anthony Trollope, “From Boston to Washington”, in North America. […], volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 467:
- As to the terrapin, I have not so much to say. The terrapin is a small turtle, found on the shores of Maryland and Virginia, out of which a very rich soup is made. It is cooked with wines and spices, and is served in the shape of a hash, with heaps of little bones mixed through it. […] I must, however, confess that the terrapin for me had no surpassing charms.
- (uncountable, obsolete) The flesh of such a turtle used as food.
- 1862, Anthony Trollope, “From Boston to Washington”, in North America. […], volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 467:
- The man who did not eat twice of terrapin would be held in small repute, as the Londoner is held who at a city banquet does not partake of both thick and thin turtle.
Alternative forms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]any of several small turtles native to North America that live in brackish or fresh water
Malaclemys terrapin — see diamondback terrapin
any of several small turtles of the families Emydidae and Geoemydidae
|
flesh of such a turtle used as food
References
[edit]- ^ “torup, n.”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2020; “torup, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- ^ “-ine, suffix4”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2021; “-ine4, suf.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- ^ “terrapin, n.”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2021; “terrapin, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- ^ Stanley, Oma (1937) “I. Vowel Sounds in Stressed Syllables”, in The Speech of East Texas (American Speech: Reprints and Monographs; 2), New York: Columbia University Press, , →ISBN, § 4, page 13.
- ^ Jones, M. Jean (1973 August) The Regional English of the Former Inhabitants of Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains[1], University of Tennessee, Knoxville, page 68.
Further reading
[edit]Anagrams
[edit]Categories:
- English terms derived from Powhatan
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English 2-syllable words
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English terms with quotations
- en:Turtles
- en:Emydid turtles