Where does “tortie” come from?
tortie (English) comes from French tortue, from Middle French tortue, from Old Occitan tortuga, from Late Latin tartarucha, from Latin tartarūchus, from Ancient Greek ταρταροῦχος, from Ancient Greek ἔχω, from Proto-Hellenic hékʰō — to hold; to overpower.
tortie (English): A tortoiseshell cat
Definitions
- A tortoiseshell cat
Ancestry of “tortie”, step by step
tortie traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French tortue
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | tortue | turtle or tortoise |
| 2 | Middle French | tortue | turtle |
| 3 | Old Occitan | tortuga | — |
| 4 | Late Latin | tartarucha | — |
| 5 | Latin | tartarūchus | — |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ταρταροῦχος | holder of Tartaros, Tartarus, the land of the... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | ἔχω | I have, possess, contain, own; I hold; I have... |
| 8 | Proto-Hellenic | hékʰō | to have |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | seǵʰ- | to hold; to overpower |
via English tortoiseshell
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | tortoiseshell | The horny, translucent, mottled covering of the... |
| 2 | English | Shell | A diminutive of the female given name Michelle or Shelly |
| 3 | Middle English | schelle | — |
| 4 | Old English | sċiell | shell |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | skallju | scale; shell |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | skaljō | shell; husk; rind; peel |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kelH- | to cut; to split, to separate |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kel- | to bend, crook; bent, crooked; leg, heel, knee,... |