Word.ws English Dictionary

terrapin

Syllables: ter·ra·pin/ˈtɛɹəpɪn/US/ˈtɛɹəˌpɪn/

terrapin noun: any of several small turtles of the families Emydidae and Geoemydidae found throughout the world.

terrapin: any of several small turtles of the families Emydidae and Geoemydidae found throughout the world
Image: Ryan Hagerty, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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.
    • The third ſervice was made up of a loin of freſh pork with apple-ſauce, a kid ſmothered with onions, and a terrapin baked in the ſhell; […]1751, [Tobias] Smollett, “He is Found by the Lieutenant; Reconducted to His Own House; Married to Mrs. Grizzle, […]”, in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to...
    • The land-turtle, or terrapin, is much better known at Nice, as being a native of this county; yet the beſt are brought from the iſland of Sardinia. The ſoup or bouillon of this animal is always preſcribed here as a great reſtorative to conſumptive patients.1766, T[obias] Smollett, “Letter XIX”, in Travels through France and Italy. […], volume I, London: […] R[oberts] Baldwin, […], →OCLC, page 302
  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).
    • 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...1862, Anthony Trollope, “From Boston to Washington”, in North America. […], volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 467
  4. (obsolete, uncountable) The flesh of such a turtle used as food.
    • 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.1862, Anthony Trollope, “From Boston to Washington”, in North America. […], volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 467

terrapin meaning in Malayalam, Arabic, Malay and Vietnamese

terrapin in Malayalam

any of several small turtles of the families Emydidae and Geoemydidae
ആമ āma

terrapin in Arabic

any of several small turtles of the families Emydidae and Geoemydidae
حَمَسَة ḥamasa, رَقّ raqq

terrapin in Malay

any of several small turtles of the families Emydidae and Geoemydidae
labi-labi

terrapin in Vietnamese

any of several small turtles of the families Emydidae and Geoemydidae
rùa ao, rùa đầm

Examples of terrapin in a sentence

  • The ancient whale-cry [i.e., "town-ho"] upon first sighting a whale from the masthead, still used by whalemen in hunting the famous Gallipagos terrapin.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Town-ho’s Story (as Told at the Golden Inn)”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition...
  • As to the terrapin, I have not so much to say.1862, Anthony Trollope, “From Boston to Washington”, in North America. […], volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 467:

Forms of terrapin

pluralterrapins
alternative formterapin

Origin of terrapin

From torup (“snapping turtle native to North America, especially the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)”) or from its etymon Powhatan *tōrəp (“sea turtle”) + possibly English -ine (suffix forming derivative or diminutive nouns), perhaps influenced by Latin terra (“dry land; soil; planet Earth”). Cognate with Abenaki tolba (“turtle”), Penobscot dolba and Unami (pisëla)tulpe (“soft-shelled turtle”).

Words formed from terrapin

Phrases with terrapin

Questions about terrapin

What does terrapin mean?
Terrapin means any of several small turtles of the families Emydidae and Geoemydidae found throughout the world.
What is terrapin in Malayalam?
Terrapin in Malayalam is ആമ (āma). See Terrapin meaning in Malayalam.
How do you use terrapin in a sentence?
The ancient whale-cry [i.e., "town-ho"] upon first sighting a whale from the masthead, still used by whalemen in hunting the famous Gallipagos terrapin.
What part of speech is terrapin?
Terrapin is a noun.
How do you pronounce terrapin?
Terrapin is pronounced /ˈtɛɹəpɪn/ (UK).
What is the plural of terrapin?
The plural of terrapin is terrapins.

Words near terrapin in the dictionary

  1. Terranora
  2. terranovaite
  3. Terrans
  4. terrapene
  5. terrapenes
  6. terrapin
  7. terrapin fork
  8. terrapin forks
  9. terrapin à la Maryland
  10. terrapinlike
  11. terrapins

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: terrapin (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-terrapin.wav.

Cite this entry: “terrapin.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/terrapin. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.