tartar Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a salt used especially in baking powder
    potassium bitartrate; potassium hydrogen tartrate; cream of tartar.
  2. noun a fiercely vigilant and unpleasant woman
    dragon.
  3. noun a member of the Mongolian people of central Asia who invaded Russia in the 13th century
    Mongol Tatar; Tatar.
  4. noun an incrustation that forms on the teeth and gums
    calculus; tophus.

WordNet

Tar"tar noun
Etymology
F. tartre (cf. Pr. tartari, Sp., Pg., & It. tartaro, LL. tartarum, LGr. ); perhaps of Arabic origin.
Definitions
  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.
Tar"tar noun
Definitions
  1. Per. Tatar, 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.
Tar"tar adjective
Definitions
  1. Of or pertaining to Tartary in Asia, or the Tartars.
Tar"tar noun
Etymology
Cf. F. tartare.
Definitions
  1. See Tartarus. Shak.

Webster 1913