TARTAN

tartan, plaid

(noun) a cloth having a crisscross design

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Noun

tartan (countable and uncountable, plural tartans)

A kind of woven woollen cloth with a distinctive pattern of coloured stripes intersecting at right angles, associated with Scottish Highlanders, different clans having their own distinctive patterns.

The pattern associated with such material.

An individual or a group wearing tartan; a Highlander or Scotsman in general.

Trade name of a synthetic resin, used for surfacing tracks etc.

Adjective

tartan (comparative more tartan, superlative most tartan)

Having a pattern like a tartan.

(humorous) Scottish.

Verb

tartan (third-person singular simple present tartans, present participle tartaning, simple past and past participle tartaned)

(transitive) To clothe in tartan.

Etymology 2

Noun

tartan (plural tartans)

A type of one-masted vessel used in the Mediterranean.

(historical) A kind of long covered carriage.

Anagrams

• Rattan, Tatran, rattan, tantra

Etymology

Assyrian.

Proper noun

Tartan

The commander-in-chief of ancient Assyria.

Anagrams

• Rattan, Tatran, rattan, tantra

Source: Wiktionary


Tar"tan, n. Etym: [F. tiretane linsey-woolsey, akin to Sp. tiritaña a sort of thin silk; cf. Sp. tiritar to shiver or shake with cold.]

Definition: Woolen cloth, checkered or crossbarred with narrow bands of various colors, much worn in the Highlands of Scotland; hence, any pattern of tartan; also, other material of a similar pattern. MacCullummore's heart will be as cold as death can make it, when it does not warm to the tartan. Sir W. Scott. The sight of the tartan inflamed the populace of London with hatred. Macaulay.

Tar"tan, n. Etym: [F. tartane, or Sp., Pg., or It. tartana; all perhaps of Arabic origin.] (Naut.)

Definition: A small coasting vessel, used in the Mediterranean, having one mast carrying large leteen sail, and a bowsprit with staysail or jib.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

30 May 2025

FOREHAND

(noun) (sports) a return made with the palm of the hand facing the direction of the stroke (as in tennis or badminton or squash)


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.

coffee icon