English Explanatory Dictionary

tartar

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A red compound deposited during wine making, mostly potassium hydrogen tartrate; wine stone — a source of cream of tartar.
  2. A hard yellow deposit on the teeth, formed from dental plaque.
noun
  1. A fearsome or angrily violent person.
noun
  1. Alternative spelling of Tatar.
  2. A member of the various tribes and their descendants of Tartary, such as Turks, Mongols and Manchus.
  3. A person of a keen, irritable temper.
  4. A rough or violent event.
adj
  1. Of or relating to the people or culture of Tartars.
name
  1. One of the tributary rivers of the Kura, flowing through Artsakh and Azerbaijan.
  2. A town in Azerbaijan located on this river.

Pronunciation

tärʹ-tər /ˈtɑɹ.tɚ/ /ˈtɑː.tə/ /ˈtɑː(ɹ)tə(ɹ)/

Word forms

tartar tartars more Tartar most Tartar

Etymology

From Old French tartre, from Medieval Latin tartarum, from Byzantine 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.

Synonyms

wine stone

Derived words

cream of tartar cream of tartar bread detartrate hemitartrate oil of tartar salt of tartar tartar emetic tartareous tartaric tartarine tartarise tartarization tartarize tartarlike tartarly tartaroborate tartarous tartralic tartramic tartramide tartrate tartrazine tartrelic tartronate tartronic tartronyl tartrovinic tartar sauce Fish-skin Tartar Tartaresque Tartarian Tartarish Tartar maple Tartary Tartaria
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