Tarzan

[ tahr-zuh n, -zan ]

/ ˈtɑr zən, -zæn /

noun

the hero of a series of jungle stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

a person of superior or superhuman physical strength, agility, and prowess.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tarzan

Or a modernized Tarzan might lead African miners on strike against unscrupulous multinationals.
Can Tarzan of the Apes Survive in a Post-Colonial World?|Ted Gioia|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I bought Tarzan comic books, and even had a few issues of ERB-dom, a mimeographed fanzine devoted to the works of Burroughs.
Can Tarzan of the Apes Survive in a Post-Colonial World?|Ted Gioia|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
(Netflix, June 13) Tarzan (1999) Relive your child with the timeless Tarzan and his feisty friend Jane.
9 New Movies to Stream on Netflix This June|The Daily Beast|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I fell passionately in love with Tarzan, and was most distressed when he married the wrong Jane.
How I Write: Jane Goodall|Noah Charney|April 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

He talks about attending the Dum-Dum convention in August, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Tarzan.
What Happened to Big-Screen Hunk Casper Van Dien?|Ramin Setoodeh|July 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Records the many wonderful exploits by which Tarzan proves his right to ape kingship.
The Duke Of Chimney Butte|G. W. Ogden
Tarzan (of, if I remember rightly, the Apes) never won the double event.
If Winter Don't|Barry Pain
They were as happy about the whole mess as a pair of kids erecting a Tarzan dwelling in a tree.
Rats in the Belfry|John York Cabot
Dennis snarled at the door and, in some kind of sheer ecstatic bravado, emitted a Tarzan roar.
Ten From Infinity|Paul W. Fairman
And I would think that maybe in a way Etl was like Tarzan, being raised by apes.
Stamped Caution|Raymond Zinke Gallun

British Dictionary definitions for tarzan

Tarzan

/ (ˈtɑːzən) /

noun

(sometimes not capital) informal, often ironic a man with great physical strength, agility, and virility

Word Origin for Tarzan

C20: after the hero of a series of stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs

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 tarzan

Tarzan

name of character in a series of novels by U.S. fiction writer Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950), introduced 1914.

Culture definitions for tarzan (1 of 2)

Tarzan

A character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in the early twentieth century. Tarzan, born to aristocratic parents but orphaned in Africa, is raised by apes, who teach him to speak their language.

Note

The adventures of Tarzan have been chronicled in countless books, comic strips, animated cartoons, radio and television series, and motion pictures.

Note

By extension, a “Tarzan” is a macho male, figuratively thumping his chest to get attention.

Culture definitions for tarzan (2 of 2)

Tarzan

A character in popular novels by the twentieth-century American author Edgar Rice Burroughs. (See under “Mythology and Folklore.”)