testudo

American  

[te-stoo-doh, -styoo-] / tɛˈstu doʊ, -ˈstyu- /

noun

plural

testudines

1. (among the ancient Romans) a movable shelter with a strong and usually fireproof arched roof, used for protection of soldiers in siege operations.

2. a shelter formed by overlapping oblong shields, held by soldiers above their heads.

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testudo British  

/ tɛˈstjuːdəʊ /

noun

1. a form of shelter used by the ancient Roman Army for protection against attack from above, consisting either of a mobile arched structure or of overlapping shields held by the soldiers over their heads

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Etymology

Origin of testudo

1350–1400 for earlier sense “tumor”; 1600–10 testudo for def. 1; Middle English < Latin testūdō tortoise, tortoise shell, siege engine; akin to test ²

Example Sentences

Hunc sic distulit 15 ventus, uti uno tempore agger, plutei, testudo, turris, tormenta flammam conciperent, et prius haec omnia consumerentur, quam quem ad modum accidisset animadverti posset.

From Helps to Latin Translation at Sight by Luce, Edmund

In its basic idea it was the Roman testudo, described by Julius Cæsar in the Gallic Commentaries.

From The Doomsman by Sutphen, Van Tassel

The testudo Mydas, or sea-turtle, frequent the bays of Antigua.

From Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume II (of 2) A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present day by Anonymous

It's a case for the testudo and all the rest of it.

From Mr. Justice Raffles by Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William)

The city is not represented as taken, yet sieges are often sculptured on these walls, and the Egyptian army is always supplied with scaling-ladders and the testudo.

From Sketches by Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield