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tart

 - 4 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


tartish, adjective
tart⋅ish⋅ly, adverb
tartly, adverb
tartness, noun


2. barbed, biting.

tart

2[tahrt]
–noun
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tart
tart 1   (tärt)   
adj.   tart·er, tart·est
  1. Having a sharp pungent taste; sour. See Synonyms at sour.

  2. Sharp or bitter in tone or meaning; cutting.


[Middle English, from Old English teart, severe; see der- in Indo-European roots.]
tart'ly adv., tart'ness n.
tart 2   (tärt)   
n.  
    1. A pastry shell with shallow sides, no top crust, and any of various fillings.

    2. Chiefly British A pie.

    3. A prostitute.

    4. A woman considered to be sexually promiscuous.

    1. A prostitute.

    2. A woman considered to be sexually promiscuous.

tr.v.   tart·ed, tart·ing, tarts Chiefly British
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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