cooter

[ koo-ter ]

noun

1. Chiefly Southern U.S. any of several large aquatic turtles of the southern U.S. and northern Mexico.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cooter¹

1820–30; said to be < Bambara, Malinke kuta turtle (with related forms in other Niger-Congo languages); compare coot to copulate (of sea turtles), first attested in the Caribbean in 1667

Example Sentences

Menu includes venison, quail, cooter, frog legs and alligator.

From Washington Post

The red-bellied cooter is a state and federally listed endangered species.

From Washington Times

A “cooter” is a box-tortoise, and the noun is turned into a verb with an ease characteristic of the mountaineers.

From Project Gutenberg

The owl is hooting to the night, The cooter crawling o'er the bank, And in that pond the flashing light Tells where the alligator sank.

From Project Gutenberg

The owl is hooting to the night, The cooter crawling o’er the bank, And in that pond the flashing light Tells where the alligator sank.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• tortoise