terrapin

English
WOTD – 24 October 2021

Etymology
An adult female diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin), one of the species of turtles originally known as terrapins (sense 2).
The European pond turtle or European pond terrapin (Emys orbicularis; sense 3).
A red-eared slider or red-eared terrapin (Trachemys scripta elegans; sense 3).

From torup (“snapping turtle native to North America, especially the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)”)[1] or from its etymon Virginia Algonquian *tōrəp (“sea turtle”) + possibly English -ine (suffix forming derivative or diminutive nouns),[2] perhaps influenced by Latin terra (“dry land; soil; planet Earth”).[3] Compare Abenaki tolba (“turtle”).

Pronunciation

Noun

terrapin (countable and uncountable, plural terrapins)

  1. (countable) Any of several small turtles of the families Emydidae and Geoemydidae found throughout the world.
  2. (countable, obsolete) Any turtle.
  3. (countable, obsolete) Any of several small turtles native to North America that live in brackish or fresh water, especially the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin).
    • 1862, Anthony Trollope, “From Boston to Washington”, in North America. […], volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, […], OCLC 1077935750, page 467:
      As to the terrapin, I have not so much to say. The terrapin is a small turtle, found on the shores of Maryland and Virginia, out of which a very rich soup is made. It is cooked with wines and spices, and is served in the shape of a hash, with heaps of little bones mixed through it. […] I must, however, confess that the terrapin for me had no surpassing charms.
  4. (uncountable, obsolete) The flesh of such a turtle used as food.
    • 1862, Anthony Trollope, “From Boston to Washington”, in North America. […], volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, […], OCLC 1077935750, page 467:
      The man who did not eat twice of terrapin would be held in small repute, as the Londoner is held who at a city banquet does not partake of both thick and thin turtle.

Alternative forms

Derived terms

Translations
Malaclemys terrapin — see diamondback terrapin

References
  1. “torup, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2020; “torup, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. “-ine, suffix4”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2021; “-ine4, suf.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. “terrapin, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2021; “terrapin, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  4. Stanley, Oma (1937), “I. Vowel Sounds in Stressed Syllables”, in The Speech of East Texas (American Speech: Reprints and Monographs; 2), New York: Columbia University Press, DOI:10.7312/stan90028, →ISBN, § 4, page 13.
  5. Jones, M. Jean (August 1973) The Regional English of the Former Inhabitants of Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains‎, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, page 68.

Further reading

Anagrams
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