tartar

[tahr-ter]

noun

Dentistry. calculus(def 3).
the deposit from wines, potassium bitartrate.
the intermediate product of cream of tartar, obtained from the crude form, argol.

Origin of tartar

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin tartarum < Late Greek tártaron; replacing Middle English tartre < Middle French < Medieval Latin, as above

Tartar

[tahr-ter]

noun

a member of any of the various tribes, chiefly Mongolian and Turkish, who, originally under the leadership of Genghis Khan, overran Asia and much of eastern Europe in the Middle Ages.
a member of the descendants of this people variously intermingled with other peoples and tribes, now inhabiting parts of the European and W and central Asian Russian Federation.
Tatar(defs 1–3).
(often lowercase) a savage, intractable person.
(often lowercase) an ill-tempered person.

adjective

of or relating to a Tartar or Tartars; Tartarian.
Tatar(def 5).

Idioms

catch a Tartar, to deal with someone or something that proves unexpectedly troublesome or powerful.Also catch a tartar.

Also Tatar (for defs 1, 2, 4, 5, 8).

Origin of Tartar

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin Tartarus, perhaps variant of Tātārus (unattested) < Persian Tātār, by association with Tartarus; replacing Middle English Tartre < Middle French < Medieval Latin, as above

Related formsTar·tar·ly, adverb

Tartar

[tahr-ter]

noun Obsolete.

Tartarus.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tartar

Contemporary Examples of tartar

To assemble taco place escabeche, fish and tartar sauce in a tortilla and garnish with cilantro and lime.
Cinco de Mayo Recipes: Tacos for One and All
May 4, 2012
For tartar sauce combine diced onions and jalapenos with mayo and mix well.
Cinco de Mayo Recipes: Tacos for One and All
May 4, 2012
Try adding a pinch of cream of tartar to the whites for a similar effect.
Cracking the Code on All Things Egg
Jessica Konopa
September 15, 2009
Dissolve the sugar, water and cream of tartar in a saucepan over a low heat.
Pumpkin Seed Brittle
The Daily Beast
November 25, 2008

Historical Examples of tartar

You know, I think it wrong to kill a bird, or worm, or even a Tartar.
Alarms and Discursions
G. K. Chesterton
In this Tartar fashion she was to have been carried off to the north of Spain.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 57, No. 352, February 1845
Various
No, her daughter ran away and crossed the sea with a Tartar.
A Hero of Our Time
M. Y. Lermontov
Dissolve a pound of alum, and as much cream of tartar, in a quart of boiling water, and add two full gallons of cold water to it.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
Every unbroken colt is like a ticket in a lottery; it may be easy, or it may be a tartar.
The Night Riders
Ridgwell Cullum

British Dictionary definitions for tartar

tartar

noun

dentistry a hard crusty deposit on the teeth, consisting of food, cellular debris, and mineral salts
Also called: argol a brownish-red substance consisting mainly of potassium hydrogen tartrate, present in grape juice and deposited during the fermentation of wine

Word Origin for tartar

C14: from Medieval Latin tartarum, from Medieval Greek tartaron

tartar

noun

(sometimes capital) a fearsome or formidable person

Word Origin for tartar

C16: special use of Tartar

Tartar

noun, adjective

a variant spelling of Tatar

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tartar

"bitartrate of potash" (a deposit left during fermentation), late 14c., from Old French tartre, from Medieval Latin tartarum, from late Greek tartaron "tartar encrusting the sides of wine casks," perhaps of Semitic origin. The purified substance is cream of tartar. The meaning "encrustation on teeth" (calcium phosphate) is first recorded 1806.

Tartar

mid-14c. (implied in Tartary, "the land of the Tartars"), from Medieval Latin Tartarus, from Persian Tatar, first used 13c. in reference to the hordes of Ghengis Khan (1202-1227), said to be ultimately from Tata, a name of the Mongols for themselves. Form in European languages probably influenced by Latin Tartarus "hell" (e.g. letter of St. Louis of France, 1270: "In the present danger of the Tartars either we shall push them back into the Tartarus whence they are come, or they will bring us all into heaven"). The historical word for what now are called in ethnological works Tatars. A Turkic people, their native region was east of the Caspian Sea. Ghengis' horde was a mix of Tatars, Mongols, Turks, etc. Used figuratively for "savage, rough, irascible person" (1660s); Byron's tartarly (1821) is a nonce-word. To catch a Tartar "get hold of what cannot be controlled" is recorded from 1660s; original sense not preserved, but probably from some military story similar to the old battlefield joke:

Irish soldier (shouting from within the brush): I've captured one of the enemy.
Captain: Excellent! Bring him here.
Soldier: He won't come.
Captain: Well, then, you come here.
Soldier: I would, but he won't let me.

Tartar sauce is first recorded 1855, from French sauce tartare.

tartar in Medicine

tartar

[tär′tər]

A hard, yellowish deposit on the teeth, consisting of organic secretions and food particles deposited in various salts, such as calcium carbonate.dental calculus

tartar in Science

tartar

[tär′tər]

A hard yellowish deposit on the teeth, consisting of organic secretions and food particles deposited in various salts, such as calcium carbonate.
A reddish acid compound consisting of a tartrate of potassium, found in the juice of grapes and deposited on the sides of wine casks.