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Tartar

[tahr-ter]

noun

Dentistry. calculus (def. 3).

the deposit from wines, potassium bitartrate.

the intermediate product of cream of tartar, obtained from the crude form, argol.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin tartarum < Late Greek tártaron; replacing Middle English tartre < Middle French < Medieval Latin, as above

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Tartar is always a great word to know.

So is doohickey. Does it mean:

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

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Example Sentences

Clams and oysters are sold fresh by the half-dozen or are lightly and sensitively fried and served with a sharp tartar sauce.

Dry food is good for dog's teeth and helps to get some of the tartar off.

Grilled instead of deep-fried, and with a trimmed-down tartar sauce.

EXPAND

Clams and oysters are sold fresh by the half-dozen or are lightly and sensitively fried and served with a sharp tartar sauce.

Dry food is good for dog's teeth and helps to get some of the tartar off.

Grilled instead of deep-fried, and with a trimmed-down tartar sauce.

If you do not remove plaque, it turns into a hard deposit called tartar that becomes trapped at the base of the tooth.

At all times their green herb tartar sauce adds a note of verdant freshness.

Add three tablespoons of the reserved clam liquid to the tartar sauce.

In small saucepan combine sugar and cream of tartar.

Whip egg whites, add cream of tartar and salt and continue whipping to soft peaks.

In separate bowl beat egg whites together with cream of tartar until stiff but not dry.

To make meringue, beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl until frothy.

Beat whites with pinch of salt and cream of tartar to soft peak stage.

Drain and serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce, if desired.

Serve the crab cakes on soft hamburger buns or simply with a spoonful of tartar sauce.

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff but still supple.

Before you break out the tartar sauce, learn some facts about fish to keep yourself and the environment healthy.

Using a pinch of cream of tartar definitely has that effect.

Scaling involves scraping tartar from above and below the gum line.

Mouthwashes that do double duty by preventing cavities or controlling tartar or gingivitis.

Chop them to start a tartar sauce for chilled or fried seafood.

The standard care is to cut back the gums, clean the pockets and remove tartar from the enamel below the gum line.

Deepening periodontal pockets between the gums and bone can become blocked by tartar or food particles.

She also sprinkled cream of tartar in the batter to keep it from changing color.

They are accompanied by a commercial tartar sauce in little plastic envelopes, which is too bad.

Maryland crab cake with tartar sauce and a grilled vegetable plate with a rosemary-infused oil.

If plaque is not removed through regular brushing and dental appointments, it will harden into what is known as tartar.

Good starters are the grilled vegetable plate, applejack onion soup and crab cake with tartar sauce.

COLLAPSE

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

a member of any of the various tribes, chiefly Mongolian and Turkish, who, originally under the leadership of Genghis Khan, overran Asia and much of eastern Europe in the Middle Ages.

a member of the descendants of this people variously intermingled with other peoples and tribes, now inhabiting parts of the European and W and central Asian Russian Federation.

Tatar (defs. 1–3).

(often lowercase) a savage, intractable person.

(often lowercase) an ill-tempered person.

adjective

of or pertaining to a Tartar or Tartars; Tartarian.

Tatar (def. 5). Also, Tatar (for defs. 1, 2, 4–8).

Idiom

catch a Tartar, to deal with someone or something that proves unexpectedly troublesome or powerful. Also, catch a tartar.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin Tartarus, perhaps variant of *Tātārus < Persian Tātār, by association with Tartarus; replacing Middle English Tartre < Middle French < Medieval Latin, as above

Related forms

Tar·tar·ly, adverb

noun Obsolete.

Tartarus.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To Tartar

Collins

World English Dictionary

tartar¹ (ˈtɑːtə)

—n
1.	dentistry a hard crusty deposit on the teeth, consisting of food, cellular debris, and mineral salts
2.	Also called: argol a brownish-red substance consisting mainly of potassium hydrogen tartrate, present in grape juice and deposited during the fermentation of wine

[C14: from Medieval Latin tartarum, from Medieval Greek tartaron]

tartar² (ˈtɑːtə)

—n
	(sometimes capital) a fearsome or formidable person

[C16: special use of Tartar]

Tartar (ˈtɑːtə)

—n, —*adj*
	a variant spelling of Tatar

Tatar or Tartar (ˈtɑːtə)

—n
1.	a. a member of a Mongoloid people who under Genghis Khan established a vast and powerful state in central Asia from the 13th century until conquered by Russia in 1552
	b. a descendant of this people, now scattered throughout Russia but living chiefly in the Tatar Republic
2.	any of the languages spoken by the present-day Tatars, belonging to various branches of the Turkic family of languages, esp Kazan Tatar

—*adj*
3.	of, relating to, or characteristic of the Tatars

[C14: from Old French Tartare, from Medieval Latin Tartarus (associated with Latin Tartarus the underworld), from Persian Tātār]

Tartar or Tartar

—n

—*adj*

[C14: from Old French Tartare, from Medieval Latin Tartarus (associated with Latin Tartarus the underworld), from Persian Tātār]

Tatarian or Tartar

—*adj*

Tar'tarian or Tartar

—*adj*

Tataric or Tartar

—*adj*

Tar'taric or Tartar

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

tartar

"bitartrate of potash" (a deposit left during fermentation), late 14c., from O.Fr. tartre, from M.L. tartarum, from late Gk. tartaron "tartar encrusting the sides of casks," perhaps of Semitic origin. The meaning "encrustation on teeth" (calcium phosphate) is first recorded 1806.

EXPAND

Tartar

c.1369 (implied in Tartary, "the land of the Tartars"), from M.L. Tartarus, from Pers. Tatar, first used 13c. in reference to the hordes of Ghengis Khan (1202-1227), said ult. to be from Tata, a name of the Mongols for themselves. Form in European languages probably influenced by L. 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" (1663); Byron's tartarly (1821) is a nonce-word. To catch a Tartar "get hold of what cannot be controlled" is recorded from 1663; 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.

Tartar sauce is first recorded 1855, from Fr. sauce tartare.

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

tartar tar·tar (tär'tər)
n.
A hard, yellowish deposit on the teeth, consisting of organic secretions and food particles deposited in various salts, such as calcium carbonate. Also called dental calculus.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

tartar (tär'tər) Pronunciation Key

A hard yellowish deposit on the teeth, consisting of organic secretions and food particles deposited in various salts, such as calcium carbonate.
A reddish acid compound consisting of a tartrate of potassium, found in the juice of grapes and deposited on the sides of wine casks.

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