Paint·ed, a.
1. Covered or adorned with paint; portrayed in colors.
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean. --Coleridge.
2. Nat. Hist. Marked with bright colors; as, the painted turtle; painted bunting.
Painted beauty Zool., a handsome American butterfly (Vanessa Huntera), having a variety of bright colors,
Painted cup Bot., any plant of an American genus of herbs (Castilleia) in which the bracts are usually bright-colored and more showy than the flowers. Castilleia coccinea has brilliantly scarlet bracts, and is common in meadows.
Painted finch. See Nonpareil.
Painted lady Zool., a bright-colored butterfly. See Thistle butterfly.
Painted turtle Zool., a common American freshwater tortoise (Chrysemys picta), having bright red and yellow markings beneath.
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Tor·toise n.
1. Zool. Any one of numerous species of reptiles of the order Testudinata.
Note: ☞ The term is applied especially to the land and fresh-water species, while the marine species are generally called turtles, but the terms tortoise and turtle are used synonymously by many writers. See Testudinata, Terrapin, and Turtle.
2. Rom. Antiq. Same as Testudo, 2.
Box tortoise, Land tortoise, etc. See under Box, Land, etc.
Painted tortoise. Zool. See Painted turtle, under Painted.
Soft-shell tortoise. Zool. See Trionyx.
Spotted tortoise. Zool. A small American fresh-water tortoise (Chelopus guttatus or Nanemys guttatus) having a blackish carapace on which are scattered round yellow spots.
Tortoise beetle Zool., any one of numerous species of small tortoise-shaped beetles. Many of them have a brilliant metallic luster. The larvae feed upon the leaves of various plants, and protect themselves beneath a mass of dried excrement held over the back by means of the caudal spines. The golden tortoise beetle (Cassida aurichalcea) is found on the morning-glory vine and allied plants.
Tortoise plant. Bot. See Elephant's foot, under Elephant.
Tortoise shell, the substance of the shell or horny plates of several species of sea turtles, especially of the hawkbill turtle. It is used in inlaying and in the manufacture of various ornamental articles.
Tortoise-shell butterfly Zool., any one of several species of handsomely colored butterflies of the genus Aglais, as Aglais Milberti, and Aglais urticae, both of which, in the larva state, feed upon nettles.
Tortoise-shell turtle Zool., the hawkbill turtle. See Hawkbill.
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painted turtle
n : freshwater turtles having bright yellow and red markings;
common in the eastern United States [syn: painted
terrapin, painted tortoise, Chrysemys picta]