tartar

pronunciation

How to pronounce tartar in British English: UK [ˈtɑ:tə(r)] word uk audio image

How to pronounce tartar in American English: US [ˈtɑrtə(r)] word us audio image

Noun:

a salt used especially in baking powder
a fiercely vigilant and unpleasant woman
an incrustation that forms on the teeth and gums

Word Origin

tartar (n.): "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, but if so the exact source has not been identified. The purified substance is cream of tartar. Used generally in 17c. of encrustations from liquid contact; specific 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). 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. Among the adjectival forms that have been used are Tartarian (16c.), Tartarous (Ben Jonson), Tartarean (17c.); Byron's Tartarly (1821) is a nonce-word (but a good one). Tartar sauce is first recorded 1855, from French sauce tartare.

1. Tartar-control toothpastes are useful for people who tend to build up tartar quickly .

2. There are a variety of ingredients used in toothpaste to help prevent the accumulation of tartar on the teeth .

3. If teeth are not brushed correctly and frequently , it could lead to the calcification of saliva minerals , forming tartar .

4. The tartar woman doesn 't look very happy perhaps due to what looks like a painful hairdo !