tar
/tɑɹ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.63 in modern English
3
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A black, oil, sticky, viscous substance, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons derived from organic materials such as wood, peat, or coal.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Shines in all climates like a star; In senates bold, and fierce in war; A land commander, and a tar."
- "a ruminating tar was[…]adorning [the wooden settle] with his jack-knife,[…]trying his hand at a ship under full sail."
- "If there's one man that I admire, that man's a British tar."
- "The allegations tarred his name, even though he was found innocent."
- "Dr. Sign: In fact, maybe you think I should get credit, but if I do, Dr. Frendall will be scorned. You know why Dr. Ellsworth: Yes, I know. Your critics will tar him with the same brush as you."
- "MOHAMMAD REZA SHAJARIAN (Thursday) Renowned in his native Iran, the vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian has been performing since the 1960s, and is now widely considered one of the finest classical Persian singers in the world. Mr. Shajarian’s son, Homayoun Shajarian, will provide additional vocals and tombak (goblet drum), while Ensemble Ava, a four-piece, will contribute additional instrumentation on the ancient Persian instruments barbat (short-necked lute), tar (long-necked lute), kamancheh (spike fiddle) and daf (frame drum)."
Etymology
PIE word *dóru Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dóruder. Proto-Germanic *terwą Old English teoru Middle English ter English tar From Middle English ter, terr, tarr, from Old English teoru, from Proto-West Germanic *teru, from Proto-Germanic *terwą, from Proto-Indo-European *derwo-, from *dóru (“tree”). See also Saterland Frisian Taar, West Frisian tarre, tar, Dutch teer, German Teer; also Welsh derw (“oaks”), Lithuanian dervà (“pinewood, resin”), Russian де́рево (dérevo, “tree”), Bulgarian дърво́ (dărvó, “tree”). More at tree.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /tɑɹ/
- British English: /tɑː/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Music.