tartar
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tartar¹
- /ˈtɑɹ.tɚ/ US
- /ˈtɑː.tə/ UK
Sounds like tarter · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)tə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Old French tartre, from Medieval Latin tartarum, from Medieval Greek τάρταρον (tártaron), said to be from Arabic دُرْدِيّ (durdiyy), though it is already found in Pelagonius’s Ars veterinaria 46 in the adjective tartarālis, if the reading is correct. Arabic etymon from Persian درد (dord, “dreg”) from Proto-Iranian *dr̥ti- (“manure, feces”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰṛ-to-, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreyd- (“to have diarrhea”), whence also doublet of dirt.
noun tartars
-
A red compound deposited during wine making, mostly potassium hydrogen tartrate; wine stone — a source of cream of tartar.
In order to preserve it in the state of protoxide these receipts prescribe various deoxygenating substances to be stirred into the melted glass, such as Smith's clinkers, tartar, soot, rotten wood, and cinnibar.
Similar: wine stone
- A hard yellow deposit on the teeth, formed from dental plaque.
tartar²
- /ˈtɑɹ.tɚ/ US
- /ˈtɑː.tə/ UK
Sounds like tarter · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)tə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From figurative use of Tartar.
noun tartars
- A fearsome or angrily violent person. Mrs. Begg said she liked Mrs. Dain, who was a sensible woman and a first-rate housewife, but that Gabrielle was a tartar.
Tartar³
- /ˈtɑː(ɹ)tə(ɹ)/
Where it comes from
From Old French Tartaire, from Medieval Latin Tartarus (“Tartar, Mongol”), from Old Turkic 𐱃𐱃𐰺 (t¹t¹r¹), spelling influenced by Latin Tartarus (“Hell (in Greek mythology)”), from Ancient Greek Τάρταρος (Tártaros). Doublet of Tatar and tartare.
noun Tartars
- Alternative spelling of Tatar
- A member of the various tribes and their descendants of Tartary, such as Turks, Mongols and Manchus. Persia is a great country, which was in old times very illustrious and powerful; but now the Tartars have wasted and destroyed it.
- A person of a keen, irritable temper.
- A rough or violent event. I haven't escaped sickness all my life to get off easily now. […] I knew when my turn came, it would be a Tartar.
adjective more Tartar · most Tartar
- Of or relating to the people or culture of Tartars. Tartar customs
Tartar⁴
- /ˈtɑː(ɹ)tə(ɹ)/
Where it comes from
From Armenian Թարթառ (Tʻartʻaṙ).
proper noun
- One of the tributary rivers of the Kura, flowing through Artsakh and Azerbaijan.
- A town in Azerbaijan located on this river.
Translations
Talk about this word "tartar." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tartar. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. tartar. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tartar "tartar." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tartar.Cite this
@misc{tartar_2026,
title = {tartar},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tartar},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
