padloper, noun

/ˈpatlʊəpə(r)/
Forms:
Also padlooper, patlooper.
Origin:
Afrikaans, South African Dutch, DutchShow more Afrikaans (earlier South African Dutch), ‘tramp, vagabond’, from Dutch pad path + loper runner (from loop go, walk); see quotation 1821.
Any of several species of land-tortoise of the genus Homopus of the Testudinidae, especially the small land-tortoise Homopus areolatus, peculiar to the Western Cape, and the pale olive-brown-coloured tortoise H. femoralis. Also attributive. See also padlopertjie sense 2.
1821 C.I. Latrobe Jrnl of Visit 79Here I saw the first land-tortoise, of the species called by the Dutch, Patlooper, from their generally keeping on the path-way or carriage-road.
1821 C.I. Latrobe Jrnl of Visit 439Many tortoises crawl about the waste...A small species called Patlooper, is from four to five inches.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 360Padlooper,..A small tortoise is so named.
1937 Guide to Vertebrate Fauna of E. Cape Prov. (Albany Museum) II. 9Homopus areolatus Thunb. Lesser Padloper or Areolated Tortoise (Parrot-beak Tortoise).
1937 Guide to Vertebrate Fauna of E. Cape Prov. (Albany Museum) II. 10Homopus femoralis Blgr. Greater Padloper. Karroo Tortoise...A plain-coloured tortoise.
c1939 S.H. Skaife S. Afr. Nature Notes 45There are three different kinds of tortoises found in the Cape Peninsula: these are the areolated tortoise, or padloper, the angulated tortoise, or bont-skilpad and the water tortoise, or Cape Terrapin. The areolated tortoise is the smallest and commonest of the three. It receives its Afrikaans name of padloper from its habit of frequently choosing the public highway for its walks abroad.
1988 M. Branch Explore Cape Flora 21Tiny speckled padloper tortoise eats a beetle daisy.
1989 E. Baard in Afr. Wildlife Vol.43 No.4, 181Researchers..tracked down and removed 292 padlopers (Homopus areolatus) and 52 geometric tortoises after several comprehensive searches of the area.
Any of several species of land-tortoise of the genus Homopus of the Testudinidae, especially the small land-tortoise Homopus areolatus, peculiar to the Western Cape, and the pale olive-brown-coloured tortoise H. femoralis. Also attributive.
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Afrikaans
Dutch
padkos, nounn.padlopertjie, nounn.
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