Where does “tartan” come from?
Tartan comes from French tartane, from Middle French tartarin, from Middle French tartar, from Old French Tartare, ultimately of uncertain origin and meaning.
tartan (English): A kind of woven woollen cloth with a distinctive...
Definitions
- A kind of woven woollen cloth with a distinctive...
Ancestry of “tartan”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | tartaryn | rich material |
| 2 | Middle French | tartarin | expensive silk cloth from the Tartar region |
| 3 | Old French | tiret | rich cloth; kind of cloth |
| 4 | Old French | tire | rank, sequence, order, kind; row; oriental cloth... |
| 5 | Latin | tyrius | Tyrian, of Tyre |
| 6 | Latin | Tyrus | Tyre |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | τυρός | cheese |
| 8 | Proto-Hellenic | tūrós | cheese |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | tuh₂-ró-s | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | tewh₂- | to swell; to crowd; to be strong |