Tatar

[tah-ter]

noun

1. a member of a modern Turkic people living in the Tatar Autonomous Republic and adjacent regions of eastern European Russia and in widely scattered communities in western Siberia and central Asia.

2. the language of this people, including the literary language of the Tatar Autonomous Republic, the dialects of the Tatar Autonomous Republic and adjacent regions of the Volga basin Volga Tatar, and numerous other dialects, some transitional to other Turkic languages.

3. Crimean Tatar.

4. Tartar.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Tatars or their language.

2. Tartar.

Tatar

/ tɑːˈtærɪk, ˈtɑːtə, tɑːˈtɛərɪən /

noun

1. 1. a member of a Mongoloid people who under Genghis Khan established a vast and powerful state in central Asia from the 13th century until conquered by Russia in 1552

   2. a descendant of this people, now scattered throughout Russia but living chiefly in the Tatar Republic

2. any of the languages spoken by the present-day Tatars, belonging to various branches of the Turkic family of languages, esp Kazan Tatar

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Tatars

Other Word Forms

• Tatarian adjective
• Tataric adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tatar¹

First recorded in 1805–15; Tartar

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tatar¹

C14: from Old French Tartare, from Medieval Latin Tartarus (associated with Latin Tartarus the underworld), from Persian Tātār

Example Sentences

Tatars were only able to return to Crimea from exile from 1989 as the Soviet Union fell apart, and they now make up about 15% of Crimea's population.

From BBC

According to it, 224 people have been jailed in the occupied Ukrainian region for expressing dissent, most of them members of the indigenous Crimean Tatar community.

From BBC

When the Kraken were nearing full health, pending unrestricted free agents Bellemare and Tatar were also among the first ones benched to make room.

From Seattle Times

Tomas Tatar countered with a response goal and fellow winger Andre Burakovsky scored his first goal in just over two months, with 2:39 left in regulation, on the power play.

From Seattle Times

Tatar, meanwhile, after a strong start with the Kraken, has just one goal and one assist since Feb. 10.

From Seattle Times