cooter

American  

[koo-ter] / ˈku tər /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of cooter

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 • Nov. 12, 2015

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 Eighth Reader by Baldwin, James

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 Southern Literature From 1579-1895 A comprehensive review, with copious extracts and criticisms for the use of schools and the general reader by Manly, Louise

For example-- De cooter is de boatman-- The cooter is the terrapin, and a very expert boatman he is.

From Letters of a Traveller Notes of Things Seen in Europe and America by Bryant, William Cullen

Ripples that spread out from his quiet wake took the sun, and the measured dip of the swimmer's arm was no louder than the whig of the cooter that paddled in the shallows.

From The Trail Book by Austin, Mary Hunter

Related Words

• tortoise