tar
4
9.9
- noun
- /tɑr/
- Archaic
:
marinero
- Even at age ten, I would have identified the trio ("A British tar is a soaring soul") as my favorite song from Act I of Pinafore.
Examples
-
"Ha!" scoffed a grizzled tar.
Fiction book (1994) -
A British tar is a soaring soul As free as a mountain bird
-
Perhaps you ought to show us how being a jolly jack tar, and all, hmm?
-
# There was a jolly British tar who met a milkmaid bonny #
-
You follow the fleet and tars and spars, Louisa.
-
In the 18th century, a British tar would often sing shanties while out at sea.
-
The old sailor told tales of his adventures as a young tar in the navy.
-
Every tar in the fleet had stories of bravery and camaraderie to share.
Synonyms
78
2.3
A person who works in the navy on a military ship
59
2.8
A person who works on a ship as a crew member below the officers
53
6.0
A person who works on a ship at sea
16
9.9
An old informal name for a sailor in the navy
7
8.6
A person who works on a ship doing basic jobs
3
4.8
A person who works or travels at sea, like a sailor
A person who works on a ship, often in the British navy
A sailor who works on a ship
Idioms
- Informal
1
8.7
Unfairly judge a whole group because of one person's actions
Compounds
- Specialized
1
5.2
A thick dark sticky liquid made by heating coal and used in medicines and dyes
- Specialized
A dark oily liquid made from coal tar that protects wood from rot and insects
- Specialized
A thick black sticky material made from oil and rocks used to make roofs waterproof and stop rust
- Jargon
A cloth soaked in pine tar that batters rub on a bat handle to help them hold it better
- New Zealand
A New Zealand tree or shrub with thin branches that grows in cold, wet places
Surface Forms
Etymology
Tar meaning 'sailor' likely began as a nickname for sailors who used tar to seal ropes and wood on ships, and a helpful way to remember this is to think of a seaman working with tar. That's why calling someone a tar once meant a sailor or navy worker.