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Webster 1913 Edition

Tartan

Tar′tan

,
Noun.
[F.
tiretane
linsey-woolsey, akin to Sp.
tiritaña
a sort of thin silk; cf. Sp.
tiritar
to shiver or shake with cold.]
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

,
Noun.
[F.
tartane
, or Sp., Pg., or It.
tartana
; all perhaps of Arabic origin.]
(Naut.)
A small coasting vessel, used in the Mediterranean, having one mast carrying large leteen sail, and a bowsprit with staysail or jib.

Webster 1828 Edition

Tartan

T`ARTAN

,
Noun.
A small coasting vessel with one mast and a bowsprit, and the principal sail, which is very large, extended by a lateen-yard.

Definition 2024

Tartan

Tartan

See also: tartan, tartán, and tårtan

English

Proper noun

Tartan

  1. The commander-in-chief of ancient Assyria.
    • 1611, And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. — 2 Kings 18:17 (Authorised Version)
    • 1611, In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it — Isaiah 20:1 (Authorised Version)

Anagrams

tartan

tartan

See also: Tartan, tartán, and tårtan

English

A montage of Scottish tartans (patterns) of various clans

Noun

tartan ‎(plural tartans)

  1. 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.
  2. The pattern associated with such material.
  3. An individual or a group wearing tartan; a Highlander or Scotsman in general.
  4. Trade name of a synthetic resin, used for surfacing tracks etc.
Translations

Adjective

tartan ‎(comparative more tartan, superlative most tartan)

  1. Having a pattern like a tartan.
    • 1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, A House Is Built, Chapter IX, Section iii
      In the second row of the cavalcade were Francie, Fanny's god-daughter, now thirteen years old and already elegant in long frilled pantalettes, tartan skirts, and a leghorn hat with streamers, …
  2. (humorous) Scottish.

Translations

Verb

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

  1. (transitive) To clothe in tartan.

Etymology 2

Borrowing from French tartane, from Italian tartana, of uncertain origin.

Alternative forms

Noun

tartan ‎(plural tartans)

  1. A type of one-masted vessel used in the Mediterranean.
    • 1877, Jules Verne, Ellen E. Frewer (translator), Hector Servadac, Part 2, Chapter X: Market Prices in Gallia,
      Hakkabut hereupon descended into the hold of the tartan, and soon returned, carrying ten packets of tobacco, each weighing one kilogramme, and securely fastened by strips of paper, labelled with the French Government stamp.
    • 1896, Arthur Conan Doyle, Rodney Stone, Chapter IV: The Peace of Amiens,
      When we were watching Massena, off Genoa, we got a matter of seventy schooners, brigs, and tartans, with wine, food, and powder.
Translations

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology

From English tartan.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /tartan/, [ˈtˢɑːtˢan]

Noun

tartan n, c ‎(singular definite tartanet or tartanen)

  1. tartan (woollen cloth with a distinctive pattern)
  2. tartan (synthetic resin, used for surfacing tracks etc.) [from 1969]

Etymology

Assyrian.

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