tartar

Meaning

1. (countable, uncountable) A red compound deposited during wine making; mostly potassium hydrogen tartrate — a source of cream of tartar.
2. (countable, uncountable) A hard yellow deposit on the teeth, formed from dental plaque.

Synonyms

calculus

cream of tartar

tophus

potassium bitartrate

dragon

🐉

potassium hydrogen tartrate

lees

lichen

lime

limestone

minx

monster

moss

mould

rust

sauce

scale

smegma

tatar

calculus II

dental calculus

tartarean

Tatar

arged

argil

beast

behemoth

bogie

dregs

Translations

tartre

tártaro

tartaro

Zahnstein

Weinstein

tàrtar

sarro

tandsteen

sarro

😆

πουρί

Tatar

جير الأسنان

tartre dentaire

carrall

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈtɑɹ.tɚ/

Etymology

From Old French tartre, from Medieval Latin tartarum, from Byzantine Greek τάρταρον (tártaron), said to be from Arabic دُرْدِيّ (durdiyy), though it is already found in Pelagonius’s Ars veterinaria 46 in the adjective tartarālis, if the reading is correct. Arabic etymon from Persian درد (dord, “dreg”) from Proto-Iranian *dr̥ti- (“manure, feces”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰṛ-to-, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreyd- (“to have diarrhea”), whence also doublet of dirt.