TARTAR DEFINITIONS - 13 definitions found
tartar n 1: a salt used especially in baking powder [syn: cream of tartar}, tartar, potassium bitartrate, potassium hydrogen tartrate}] 2: a fiercely vigilant and unpleasant woman [syn: dragon, tartar] 3: a member of the Mongolian people of central Asia who invaded Russia in the 13th century [syn: Tatar, Tartar, Mongol Tatar}] 4: an incrustation that forms on the teeth and gums [syn: tartar, calculus, tophus] Oxford English Reference Dictionary
Oxford English Reference Dictionary
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner\'s English Dictionary tartar (tartars) 1. Tartar is a hard yellowish substance that forms on your teeth and causes them to decay if it is not removed. N-UNCOUNT 2. If you describe someone, especially a woman in a position of authority, as a tartar, you mean that they are fierce, bad-tempered, and strict. (INFORMAL) She can be quite a tartar. N-COUNT 3. see also cream of tartar English Explanatory Dictionary Tartar ˈtɑ:tə n. & adj. (also Tatar except in sense 2 of n.) --n. 1 a a member of a group of Central Asian peoples including Mongols and Turks. b the Turkic language of these peoples. 2 (tartar) a violent-tempered or intractable person. --adj. 1 of or relating to the Tartars. 2 of or relating to Central Asia E. of the Caspian Sea. øtartar sauce a sauce of mayonnaise and chopped gherkins, capers, etc. øøTartarian adj. [ME tartre f. OF Tartare or med.L Tartarus] English Explanatory Dictionary tartar ˈtɑ:tə n. 1 a hard deposit of saliva, calcium phosphate, etc., that forms on the teeth. 2 a deposit of acid potassium tartrate that forms a hard crust on the inside of a cask during the fermentation of wine. øtartar emetic potassium antimony tartrate used as a mordant and in medicine (formerly as an emetic). øøtartarize v.tr. (also -ise). [ME f. med.L f. med.Gk tartaron] 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue TARTAR To catch a Tartar; to attack one of superior strength or abilities. This saying originated from a story of an Irish-soldier in the Imperial service, who, in a battle against the Turks, called out to his comrade that he had caught a Tartar. 'Bring him along then,' said he. 'He won't come,' answered Paddy. 'Then come along yourself,' replied his comrade. 'Arrah,' cried he, 'but he won't let me.'--A Tartar is also an adept at any feat, or game: he is quite a Tartar at cricket, or billiards. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Tartar \Tar"tar\, n. 1. [Per. T[=a]t[=a]r, of Tartar origin.] A native or inhabitant of Tartary in Asia; a member of any one of numerous tribes, chiefly Moslem, of Turkish origin, inhabiting the Russian Europe; -- written also, more correctly but less usually, Tatar. 2. A person of a keen, irritable temper. To catch a tartar, to lay hold of, or encounter, a person who proves too strong for the assailant. [Colloq.] Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Tartar \Tar"tar\, n. [F. tartre (cf. Pr. tartari, Sp., Pg., & It. tartaro, LL. tartarum, LGr. ?); perhaps of Arabic origin.] 1. (Chem.) A reddish crust or sediment in wine casks, consisting essentially of crude cream of tartar, and used in marking pure cream of tartar, tartaric acid, potassium carbonate, black flux, etc., and, in dyeing, as a mordant for woolen goods; -- called also argol, wine stone, etc. 2. A correction which often incrusts the teeth, consisting of salivary mucus, animal matter, and phosphate of lime. Cream of tartar. (Chem.) See under Cream. Tartar emetic (Med. Chem.), a double tartrate of potassium and basic antimony. It is a poisonous white crystalline substance having a sweetish metallic taste, and used in medicine as a sudorific and emetic. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Tartar \Tar"tar\, a. Of or pertaining to Tartary in Asia, or the Tartars. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Tartar \Tar"tar\, n. [Cf. F. tartare.] See Tartarus. --Shak. Soule\'s Dictionary of English Synonyms tartar n. 1. Argol, bitartrate of potash (crude). 2. Ill-tempered person. |
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