[tahr-ter] 
| 1. | 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. |
| 2. | 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. |
| 3. | Tatar (defs. 1–3). |
| 4. | (often lowercase ) a savage, intractable person. |
| 5. | (often lowercase) an ill-tempered person. |
| 6. | of or pertaining to a Tartar or Tartars; Tartarian. |
| 7. | Tatar (def. 5). Also, Tatar (for defs. 1, 2, 4–8). |
| 8. | catch a Tartar, to deal with someone or something that proves unexpectedly troublesome or powerful. Also, catch a tartar. |
| Tar·tar (tär'tər) n.
[Middle English Tartre, from Old French Tartare, from Medieval Latin Tartarus, alteration (influenced by Latin Tartarus, Tartarus) of Persian Tātār; see Tatar.] |
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.
tartar (tär'tər) Pronunciation Key
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catch a Tartar
Seek out something or someone that turns out to be unexpectedly unpleasant or formidable, as in Now that she finally agreed to meet with you, you just might find that you've caught a Tartar. In this term, Tartar signifies a difficult or sometimes violent individual, referring to Turkic and Mongolian invaders of Asia in the Middle Ages. [Mid-1600s]