tortoiseshell vs nymphalid

tortoiseshell and nymphalid both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
tortoiseshell	Yes	No	No	No
nymphalid	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, nymphalid is a hypernym of tortoiseshell; that is, nymphalid is a word with a broader meaning than tortoiseshell:

tortoiseshell: brilliantly colored; larvae feed on nettles
nymphalid: medium to large butterflies found worldwide typically having brightly colored wings and much-reduced nonfunctional forelegs carried folded on the breast

Other hypernyms of tortoiseshell include brush-footed butterfly, four-footed butterfly, nymphalid butterfly.

tortoiseshell (noun)	nymphalid (noun)
a cat having black and cream-colored and yellowish markings	medium to large butterflies found worldwide typically having brightly colored wings and much-reduced nonfunctional forelegs carried folded on the breast
brilliantly colored; larvae feed on nettles
the mottled horny substance of the shell of some turtles