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Glite Dictionary
🐾 Mottled colors 🐱 A mottled cat
tortie

tortie

7.0
A cat with mixed black and orange patches of fur
  • noun
  • /ˈtɔrti/
translation icon : gato tortuga
  • The tortie cat lounged in the sun, proudly displaying her vibrant black and orange coat.

Examples

  • The attitude traveled with her, as it turns out she is a tortie with more than her share of tortitude.

    Blog text (9)

  • Calico in the front, tortie in the back, all attitude.

    Blog text (6)

  • Here you can see the "tortie in the back" coloring.

    Blog text (6)

  • My friend adopted a tortie, whose unique fur pattern made her stand out at the shelter.

  • Every day, the playful tortie chased sunbeams across the living room floor.

Synonyms

tortoiseshell
vstortie
1 6.1

A cat with black, cream, and orange patches on its fur

has more distinct orange rather than cream or pale yellow
tortoiseshell cat
vstortie
3.3

A domestic cat with black, orange, and cream patches of fur

has stronger orange tones rather than paler cream or yellow

Surface Forms

tortie singular
torties plural

Morphology

tortie = tortoiseshell (transparent) = tortoiseshell + ie

Informal/clipped form of 'tortoiseshell' denoting a cat with that coat pattern; the referent is directly preserved.

Etymology

The word tortie is a short form of tortoiseshell and names a cat that has a 'mix of black, brown and orange patches' like a tortoise's shell, so a tortie is a cat with that distinctive coat.