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tart - 9 dictionary results
tart
1
[tahrt] 
,–adjective, -er, -est.
| 1. | sharp to the taste; sour or acid: tart apples. |
| 2. | sharp in character, spirit, or expression; cutting; caustic: a tart remark. |
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE teart sharp, rough; akin to D tarten to defy, MHG traz defiance
bef. 1000; ME; OE teart sharp, rough; akin to D tarten to defy, MHG traz defiance
Related forms:
tartish, adjective
tart⋅ish⋅ly, adverb
tartly, adverb
tartness, noun
Synonyms:
2. barbed, biting.
2. barbed, biting.
tart
2 [tahrt] –noun
—Verb phrase| 1. | a small pie filled with cooked fruit or other sweetened preparation, usually having no top crust. |
| 2. | a covered pie containing fruit or the like. |
| 3. | Slang. a prostitute or promiscuous woman. |
| 4. | tart up, Slang. to adorn, dress, or decorate, esp. in a flamboyant manner: The old restaurant was tarted up to look like a Viennese café. |
Origin:
1350–1400; 1905–10 for def. 3; ME tarte < MF; cf. ML tarta
1350–1400; 1905–10 for def. 3; ME tarte < MF; cf. ML tarta
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To tart
| tart 1 (tärt) adj. tart·er, tart·est
[Middle English, from Old English teart, severe; see der- in Indo-European roots.] tart'ly adv., tart'ness n. |
| tart 2 (tärt) n.
To dress up or make fancy in a tawdry, garish way. Often used with up. [Middle English tarte, from Old French, perhaps alteration of tartane, from Late Latin torta, a kind of bread.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Tart
Tart\, a. [AS. teart. [root]63. Cf. Tear, v. t.]1. Sharp to the taste; acid; sour; as, a tart apple. 2. Fig.: Sharp; keen; severe; as, a tart reply; tart language; a tart rebuke. Why art thou tart, my brother? --Bunyan.Tart
Tart\, n. [OE. tarte, F. tarte; perhaps originally the same word as tourte, LL. torta, fr. L. tortus, p. p. of torquere to twist, bend, wind, because tarts were originally made of a twisted shape. Cf. Torture, n.] A species of small open pie, or piece of pastry, containing jelly or conserve; a sort of fruit pie.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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tart (adj.)
"having a sharp taste," c.1386, perhaps from O.E. teart "painful, sharp, severe" (in ref. to punishment, pain, suffering), of unknown origin; possibly related to the root of teran "to tear." Fig. use, with ref. to words, speech, etc., is attested from 1601.
tart (n.1)
"small pie," c.1400, from O.Fr. tarte "flat, open-topped pastry" (13c.), possibly an alteration of torte, from L.L. torta "round loaf of bread" (in M.L. "a cake, tart"), infl. in M.E. by tart (adj.).
tart (n.2)
"prostitute," 1887, from earlier use as a term of endearment to a girl or woman (1864), sometimes said to be a shortening of sweetheart. But another theory traces it to jam-tart (see tart (n.1)), which was British slang early 19c. for "attractive woman." To tart (something) up is from 1938.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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