,
, ‘its rotation, revolving or turning,’ the word ȧbṭu, whether applied to ‘month’ or ‘tortoise’ clearly signifies ‘the revolving one.’ Our modern words Tortoise, Tortue, Tortuga, rather express the turning or twisting of the creature’s feet. In some texts, e.g., the inscriptions of Amenhotep, the son of Hapu, Mariette, Karnak, pl. 36, line 22, and at the beginning of the Ani Papyrus, the word is written
abtu. In the later part of the Ani Papyrus it is written with the initial
.