Does anybody know the etymology of Latin
testu:do: (-inis) "turtle" ? It seems to be related to testa, but what's the
analysis? What is the meaning of the suffix.
Neo-Latin derivatives, tortuga, tortue, and
English tortoise and turtle came from a Latin *tortuca? What's its origin?
Portuguese has tartaruga, which usually analysed as corruption of tortuga, or
from an odd Greek tartaroukhos "Hells's Guardian". What is the current
view.
Portuguese has a name for terrestrial
turtles, ca´gado (in Brazil we also use jabuti, of Amerindian origin),
which would come from Latin *cacitus or *cacabatus. Any
idea?
Joao SL