Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tar heel

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.42 in modern English

Syllables
tar heel
IPA
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Synonym of North Carolinian.

American usage; Slang

noun

A person associated with or supportive of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

American usage; Slang

name

A small town in Bladen County, North Carolina.

name

An unincorporated community in Hickman County, Kentucky.

Example Sentences

Etymology

North Carolina was associated with tar (of which it was a major producer) from the 1700s onwards, and residents were (at first derisively) called "Tarboilers" since at least the 1840s; "Tar Heel" is first attested in 1863 in comments by Confederate soldiers which suggest it was already in common use at that time. One popular theory suggests it refers to North Carolinians having tar on their heels to make them "stick", referring either to their reluctance to join the Confederacy, or to their holding ground during battles when other states' troops retreated.

Usage

Inflected Forms

Tar Heels (plural) Tarheel (alternative)

Phrases

Tar Heel State

Synonyms

North Carolinian

Questions

What does tar heel mean?
Synonym of North Carolinian.
Where does tar heel come from?
North Carolina was associated with tar (of which it was a major producer) from the 1700s onwards, and residents were (at first derisively) called "Tarboilers" since at least the 1840s; "Tar Heel" is first attested in 1863 in comments by Confederate soldiers which suggest it was already in common use at that time. One popular theory suggests it refers to North Carolinians having tar on their heels to make them "stick", referring either to their reluctance to join the Confederacy, or to their holding ground during battles when other states' troops retreated.

How to pronounce tar heel

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tar heel”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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