Tatar

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Tartar \Tar"tar\, n.
     1. [Per. T[=a]t[=a]r, of Tartar origin.] A native or
        inhabitant of Tartary in Asia; a member of any one of
        numerous tribes, chiefly Moslem, of Turkish origin,
        inhabiting the Russian Europe; -- written also, more
        correctly but less usually, {Tatar}.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A person of a keen, irritable temper.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {To catch a tartar}, to lay hold of, or encounter, a person
        who proves too strong for the assailant. [Colloq.]
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Tatar
       n 1: a member of the Mongolian people of central Asia who invaded
            Russia in the 13th century [syn: {Tartar}, {Mongol Tatar}]
       2: a member of the Turkic-speaking people living from the Volga
          to the Ural Mountains (the name has been attributed to
          many other groups)
       3: the Turkic language spoken by the Tatar people living from
          the Volga to the Ural Mountains