tar

Meaning

Noun

1. A black, oily, sticky, viscous substance, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons derived from organic materials such as wood, peat, or coal.
2. Coal tar.
3. A solid residual byproduct of tobacco smoke.
4. (slang) A sailor, because of the traditional tarpaulin clothes.
5. Black tar, a form of heroin.

Verb

1. To coat with tar.
2. To besmirch.

Verb

To create a tar archive.

Synonyms

pitch

resin

seaman

gob

old salt

asphalt

Jack

mariner

sailor

sea dog

seafarer

Jack-tar

coal tar

oil tar

bluejacket

privateer

blacktop

rosin

chian

besmear with tar

pave

bitumen

distillate

gum

tar pasta

asphaltum

mineral pitch

pay

💸

Pronounced as (IPA)

/tɑː/

Etymology

From Middle English ter, terr, tarr, from Old English teoru, from Proto-West Germanic *teru, from Proto-Germanic *terwą (compare Saterland Frisian Taar, West Frisian tarre, tar, Dutch teer, German Teer), from Proto-Indo-European *derwo- (compare Welsh derw (“oaks”), Lithuanian dervà (“pinewood, resin”), Russian де́рево (dérevo, “tree”), Bulgarian дърво́ (dǎrvó, “tree”)), from *dóru (“tree”). More at tree.