terrapin

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈtɛrəpɪn/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈtɛrəpɪn/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(ter′ə pin)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
ter•ra•pin /ˈtɛrəpɪn/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. Reptilesa North American turtle that lives in fresh or partly salty waters.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
ter•ra•pin  (ter′ə pin),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Reptilesany of several edible North American turtles of the family Emydidae, inhabiting fresh or brackish waters, esp. the diamondback terrapin: some are threatened or endangered.
  2. Reptilesany of various similar turtles.
  • Eastern Algonquian *to·rəpe·w variety of turtle Munsee Delaware tó·lpe·w) + -in, of uncertain origin, originally
  • Virginia Algonquian
  • earlier torope (1605–15

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
terrapin / ˈtɛrəpɪn/
  1. any of various web-footed chelonian reptiles that live on land and in fresh water and feed on small aquatic animals: family Emydidae
    Also called: water tortoise
Etymology: 17th Century: of Algonquian origin; compare Delaware torope turtle
'terrapin' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Campbell - diamondback - diamondback terrapin - tortoise

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