tartan

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈtɑːt(ə)n/ (UK); /ˈtɑɹtn̩/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.^[2][3] It may be borrowed from Middle French tiretaine (“strong coarse fabric, linsey-woolsey”), tertaine,^{[4][5][2][6][7]} from Old French tiret (“a kind of cloth”), from tire (“silk cloth”), from Medieval Latin tyrius (“cloth from Tyre”).^[4][5][2] The spelling was probably influenced by Middle English tartaryn (“rich silk cloth”) (1343), from Old French tartarin (“Tartar cloth”).^[5][2][8] Weekley derives it chiefly from tartarin,^[9] while Klein and Collins trace tiretaine to Spanish tiritaña (“a thin silk fabric”), from tiritar (“to rustle, shiver”).^[10][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

A kind of woollen fabric (1454 in Barnhart; mid-15th century in Etymonline; about 1500 in the OED and Merriam-Webster).^{[5][2][12][6]}

Semantic evolution

The word was originally Scottish.^[7] It came to mean a woollen cloth woven in coloured stripes crossing at right angles, worn especially by the Scottish Highlanders, each clan having its own pattern.^[12][13] By transfer it was used of a Highlander, or of Highlanders collectively (1817).^[12] In 1972 it was applied to young members of Protestant gangs in Northern Ireland.^[12] The verb, to clothe in tartan, dates from 1813.^[12] A different word, tartan or tartane, names a small one-masted Mediterranean vessel (1621).^[12][6]

Timeline

• 1343 – tartaryn, rich silk cloth.^[5]
• 1454 – tartyn, a woollen fabric.^[5]
• c. 1500 – first quotation in the OED.^[12][6]
• 1813 – verb, to clothe in tartan.^[12]
• 1817 – a Highlander, or Highlanders collectively.^[12]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Any of many patterns of stripes of varying width and colour crossing at right angles, especially one associated with a Scottish clan.
2. A twilled woollen fabric or garment with such a pattern.
3. Any plaid fabric.

Adjective

1. Made of or patterned like tartan.

Related words

• plaid
• Tartar
• Tyrian
• kilt

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
10. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
11. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
13. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House