tartan
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtɑːt(ə)n/
ipa: /ˈtɑɹtn̩/
ipa: [-ɾn̩]
ipa: /ˈtɑɹt(ə)n/
ipa: /ˈtæɹ-/
homophone: Tartan
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)tən
Forms: form: more tartan
form: most tartan
Etymology: The noun is an unadapted borrowing from Scots tartan, from Old Scots tartane, tertane, probably from Old French tertaine, tiretaine (“cloth of wool mixed with cotton or linen”), probably from tiret (“kind of precious cloth”) + -aine modelled after futaine (“woven cloth made from cotton mixed with linen or silk”). Tiret is derived from tire (“kind of silk cloth”), from Medieval Latin tyrium (“cloth dyed with Tyrian purple”), a noun use of Latin tyrium, an inflection of tyrius (“of Tyre, Tyrian”), from Latin Tyrus (“Phoenician city of Tyre (in modern Lebanon)”) (from Ancient Greek Τῠ́ρος (Tŭ́ros), from Phoenician 𐤑𐤓 (ṣr) or 𐤑𐤅𐤓 (ṣwr)) + -ius (suffix forming adjectives).
Another suggestion is that the Scots noun is from Middle English tartaryn (“rich cloth (probably silk) imported from the East, probably from China through Tartary”), from Old French (drap) tartarin (literally “cloth of Tartary”), from Medieval Latin Tartarīnus (“of Tartary or the Tatars”), from Latin Tartarus, Tatarus (“Tatar person”) + -īnus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). However, the Oxford English Dictionary notes that tartarin referred to a more expensive fabric.
Noun sense 2.2 (“type of fly used in fly fishing”) may refer to its use in Scotland: see the 1837 quotation. Sense 2.3 (“young person who is a member of a Protestant gang in Northern Ireland”) is from the fact that they were traditionally supporters of Rangers Football Club based in Glasgow, Scotland.
The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun, while the verb is also derived from the noun.
Senses: examples: text: Her tartan petticoat ſhe'll kilt, / An' durk an' piſtol at her belt, / She'll tak the ſtreets, / An' rin her vvhittle to the hilt, / I' th' firſt ſhe meets!
ref: 1786, Robert Burns, “The Author’s Earnest Cry and Prayer, to the Right Honourable and Honourable, the Scotch Representatives in the House of Commons”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. […], 2nd edition, volume I, Edinburgh: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], and William Creech, […], published 1793, →OCLC, page 30:
english: Her tartan petticoat she'll kilt [gather up], / And dirk [long dagger] and pistol at her belt, / She'll take the streets, / And run her whittle [knife] to the hilt, / In the first she meets!
translation: Her tartan petticoat she'll kilt [gather up], / And dirk [long dagger] and pistol at her belt, / She'll take the streets, / And run her whittle [knife] to the hilt, / In the first she meets!
bold_translation_offsets: 4
10
text: [M]y pupils leave off their thick shoes and tight old tartan pelisses, and wear silk stockings and muslin frocks, as fashionable baronets' daughters should.
ref: 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Arcadian Simplicity”, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 88:
text: In the second row of the cavalcade were Francie, Fanny's god-daughter, now thirteen years old and already elegant in long frilled pantalettes, tartan skirts, and a leghorn hat with streamers, […]
ref: 1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw [pseudonym; Marjorie Barnard, Flora Eldershaw], chapter IX, in A House is Built, London; Bombay, Maharashtra: George G. Harrap & Co., →OCLC, section iii, page 225:
glosses: Made of tartan (noun sense 1), or having a distinctive pattern of coloured stripes intersecting at right angles like a that of a tartan.
glosses: Of or relating to Scotland, its culture, or people; Scottish.
Derived terms: Tartan Army
tartan noir
tartan tax
Tartan Tory