tar
1
[ tahr ]
/ tɑr /
noun
any of various dark-colored viscid products obtained by the destructive distillation of certain organic substances, as coal or wood.
coal-tar pitch.
smoke solids or components: cigarette tar.
verb (used with object), tarred, tar·ring.
to smear or cover with or as if with tar.
adjective
of or characteristic of tar.
covered or smeared with tar; tarred.
Idioms for tar
Origin of tar
1
before 900; (noun) Middle English
tarr(e),
ter(re), Old English
teru; cognate with Dutch, German
teer, Old Norse
tjara; akin to
tree; (v.) Middle English
terren, Old English
tierwian, derivative of the noun
OTHER WORDS FROM tar
non·tarred, adjective un·tarred, adjectiveWords nearby tar
British Dictionary definitions for tar and feather (1 of 2)
tar
1
/ (tɑː) /
noun
any of various dark viscid substances obtained by the destructive distillation of organic matter such as coal, wood, or peat
another name for coal tar
verb tars, tarring or tarred (tr)
to coat with tar
tar and feather
to punish by smearing tar and feathers over (someone)
tarred with the same brush
regarded as having the same faults
Derived forms of tar
tarry, adjective tarriness, nounWord Origin for tar
Old English
teoru; related to Old Frisian
tera, Old Norse
tjara, Middle Low German
tere tar, Gothic
triu tree
British Dictionary definitions for tar and feather (2 of 2)
Word Origin for tar
C17: short for
tarpaulin
Scientific definitions for tar and feather
tar
[ tär ]
A dark, oily, viscous material, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons, produced by the destructive distillation of organic substances such as wood, coal, or peat.
See coal tar.
A solid, sticky substance that remains when tobacco is burned. It accumulates in the lungs of smokers and is considered carcinogenic.
Idioms and Phrases with tar and feather (1 of 2)
tar and feather
Criticize severely, punish, as in The traditionalists often want to tar and feather those who don't conform. This expression alludes to a former brutal punishment in which a person was smeared with tar and covered with feathers, which then stuck. It was first used as a punishment for theft in the English navy, recorded in the Ordinance of Richard I in 1189, and by the mid-1700s had become mob practice. The figurative usage dates from the mid-1800s.
Idioms and Phrases with tar and feather (2 of 2)
tar