Where does “tar” come from?
tar (Old Irish) comes from Old Irish a, from Proto-Celtic *ā, from Proto-Indo-European ō — oh, ah.
tar (Old Irish): over, across
Ancestry of “tar”, step by step
tar traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old Irish a
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Irish | a | nominative/accusative singular neuter of in; that... |
| 2 | Proto-Celtic | *ā | O (vocative particle) |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | ō | oh, ah |
via Proto-Celtic taras
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Celtic | taras | across |
| 2 | Proto-Indo-European | terh₂- | to cross over, pass through, overcome |