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Tartar

Tartar

7 9.9
A person from a Mongol group in Central Asia who invaded Russia and Eastern Europe in the 13th century
  • noun
  • /ˈtɑrtər/
translation icon : tártaro
  • In the 13th century, the Tartars invaded parts of Russia, leaving a significant impact on its history.
  • nomadic Tartars
  • Tartar sauce
  • Tartar camp

Examples

  • After the battle, the king celebrated his victory over the Tartars, who had previously threatened his kingdom.

  • Ivan, the Third of Moscow faced down the Tartar army and forced it to retreat.

  • By the way, my boss is an ethnic Tartar and a Muslim.

    Blog text (5)
  • You have no need to worry about Kaidu the Tartar.

  • Unquestionably, it was the Tartar face he knew so well, with the high cheekbones and the angled eyes.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • A regiment of Tartars with wolf dæmons guards it.

  • Nomadic Tartars nourished and warmed him, carrying him across the snows to safety.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Chechens were Tartars, a western tide of the Golden Horde that had settled in the fastness of the Caucasus Mountains.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Ivan conquered Tartar lands in Kazan and Astrakhan, but was defeated in the Livonian War by Sweden and the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth.

  • Many stories speak of the nomadic lifestyle of the Tartars and their complex culture in central Asia.

Synonyms

Tatar
vsTartar
2 8.2

A person from a Turkic-speaking ethnic group mainly in Russia and Central Asia

refers to thirteenth-century Central Asian invaders not this Turkic group
Mongol
vsTartar
1 6.5

A person from Mongolia or from groups who move with their animals on the grasslands

is specific to the thirteenth-century invading group rather than the general peoples
Mongol Tatar
vsTartar
9.9

A person from the Mongolian people of Central Asia who invaded Russia in the 1200s

is the other conventional name for the same historical group
Mongolian
vsTartar
4.7

A person from Mongolia who lives as a nomad on the steppe

is historical, referring to thirteenth-century Central Asian invaders

Idioms

9.9

To unexpectedly meet a very strong opponent

Compounds

7 1.3

A cold mayonnaise sauce with chopped pickles often served with fried fish

cream of tartar
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A white powder used in baking to keep egg whites and sugar stable

9.9

A tree from northern Australia that has sour, small round fruit

tartar emetic
  • Archaic
9.9

A poisonous salt once used in medicine to make people vomit

Raw ground beef mixed with raw egg and onions or capers served uncooked

Surface Forms

Tartar singular
Tartars plural

Etymology

The word Tartar comes from the name Tatar, which named a real group of peoples from central Asia. Europeans later added an extra 'r' and compared them to Tartarus, a Greek word for 'hell', because they feared the group's fierce attacks, so Tartar came to mean those Mongolian peoples who invaded parts of Russia and Eastern Europe.