костенурка

Feminine form of ко́ст (kóst, “bone”) (i-stem) +‎ ну́рец (núrec, “diver”) (dialectal, obsolete).

• IPA^(key):

• Audio:

  (file)

костену́рка • (kostenúrka) f (diminutive костену́рче)

1. turtle, tortoise (reptile of order Testudines)

   Synonym: (dialectal) же́лва (žélva)

In principle, Bulgarian makes no implicit distinction between terrestrial or aquatic Testudines. If specification is needed, it is made explicitly:

• во́дна костену́рка (vódna kostenúrka, “aquatic turtle”)
• сухозе́мна костену́рка (suhozémna kostenúrka, “terrestrial turtle”)

Based on the etymology of the word, though, it can be deduced that костену́рка (kostenúrka) originally referred to aquatic turtles.

• кост (kost, “bone”)
• ну́рец (núrec, “diver; grebe (aquatic bird)”) (dialectal)

• “костенурка”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2014
• “костенурка”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Chitanka, 2010