tart
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tart¹
- /tɑɹt/ US
- /tɑːt/ UK
Sounds like Tat (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)t
Where it comes from
From Middle English tart, from Old English teart (“sharp, rough, severe”), from Proto-West Germanic *tart, from Proto-Germanic *tartaz (“rough, sharp, tearing”), from Proto-Germanic *teraną (“to tear”), from Proto-Indo-European *der- (“to flay, split, cleave”). Related to Scots tairt (“tart; tartness”), Dutch tarten (“to defy, challenge, mock”), German trotzen (“to defy, brave, mock”), perhaps Albanian thartë (“sour, acid, sharp”).
adjective tarter · tartest
- Sharp to the taste; acid; sour. I ate a very tart apple.
-
High or too high in acidity.
Similar: green
- Sharp; keen; severe. He gave me a very tart reply.
tart²
- /tɑɹt/ US
- /tɑːt/ UK
Sounds like Tat (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)t
Where it comes from
From Middle English tart, tarte, from Old French tarte, tartre (“flat pastry”) (compare Medieval Latin tarta), of unknown origin. Perhaps an alteration of Old French torte, tourte, from Latin turta, perhaps from tŏrta f (“twisted”), in which case it would be cognate to torta.
noun tarts
- A type of small open pie, or piece of pastry, now typically containing jelly (US) / jam (UK) or conserve, or sometimes other fillings (chocolate, custard, egg, butter, historically even meat or other savory fillings).
- A melt (block of wax for use in a tart burner).
tart³
- /tɑɹt/ US
- /tɑːt/ UK
Sounds like Tat (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)t
Where it comes from
From a rebracketing of sweetheart, or from jam tart (“attractive woman”) by shortening.
noun tarts
- A prostitute.
- Any woman with loose sexual morals. We know the majority of the places that these tarts will hang out at.
verb tarts · tarting · tarted
- To practice prostitution.
- To practice promiscuous sex.
- To dress garishly, ostentatiously, whorishly, or sluttily.
Tart⁴
proper noun Tarts
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: sour, sourish, tangy, trollop, whore, harlot, prostitute, bawd, working girl, unpleasant, sharp, cocotte, lemonlike, lemony, cyprian, fancy woman
Translations
Every language
adj with sharp taste
| Español | acerbo |
|---|---|
| Português | azedo |
| Français | amer, mordant |
| Deutsch | sauer, herb |
| Italiano | acido, aspro |
| Русский | те́рпкий térpkij, е́дкий jédkij, ки́слый kíslyj |
noun open-topped pie or pastry
| Español | tarta, tartaleta |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 타르트 tareuteu |
| 日本語 | タルト taruto |
| 中文 | 撻 /挞 tà |
| Português | torta, tarte |
| Français | tarte, tartelette |
| Deutsch | Tarte, Törtchen |
| Italiano | torta, crostata |
| Ελληνικά | τάρτα tárta |
| Română | tartă |
| Русский | пиро́г piróg, тарт tart |
noun prostitute
| Español | puta |
|---|---|
| Português | prostituta |
| Français | putain, pute |
| Deutsch | Hure, Prostituierte |
| Italiano | puttana, prostituta |
| Ελληνικά | πουτάνα poutána |
| Русский | проститу́тка prostitútka |
Talk about this word "tart." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tart. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. tart. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tart "tart." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tart.Cite this
@misc{tart_2026,
title = {tart},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tart},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
