tartar
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Related to tartar: cream of tartar
Tar·tar
(tär′tər)n.
See Tatar.
[Middle English Tartre, from Old French Tartare, from Medieval Latin Tartarus, alteration (influenced by Latin Tartarus, Tartarus) of Persian Tātār; see Tatar.]
tar·tar
(tär′tər)n.
1. Dentistry A hard yellowish deposit on the teeth, consisting of organic secretions and food particles deposited in various salts, such as calcium carbonate. Also called calculus.
2. A reddish acid compound, chiefly potassium bitartrate, found in the juice of grapes and deposited on the sides of casks during winemaking.
[Middle English tartre, potassium bitartrate, from Old French, from Medieval Latin tartarum, argol, from Medieval Greek tartaron.]
tartar
(ˈtɑːtə)n
1. (Dentistry) dentistry a hard crusty deposit on the teeth, consisting of food, cellular debris, and mineral salts
2. (Elements & Compounds) 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]
tartar
(ˈtɑːtə)n
(sometimes capital) a fearsome or formidable person
[C16: special use of Tartar]
Tartar
(ˈtɑːtə)n, adj
(Languages) a variant spelling of Tatar
tar•tar
(ˈtɑr tər)n.
2. the deposit from wines, cream of tartar.
3. the intermediate product of cream of tartar, obtained from the crude form, argol.
[1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin tartarum < Late Greek tártaron]
tar•tar′ic (-ˈtær ɪk, -ˈtɑr-) tar′tar•ous, adj.
Tar•tar
(ˈtɑr tər)n.
1. a member of any of various Mongolian and Turkic peoples who, under Genghis Khan and his successors, ruled parts of central and W Asia and E Europe until the 18th century.
3. (often l.c.) a savage, intractable, or ill-tempered person.
[1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin Tartarus]
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Noun | 1. | tartar - a salt used especially in baking powder salt - a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal) |
2. | tartar - a fiercely vigilant and unpleasant woman disagreeable woman, unpleasant woman - a woman who is an unpleasant person | |
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