# tar

> English word · Noun · IPA /tɑː/ · frequency rank #12,515

## Definitions
1. A black, oily, sticky, viscous substance, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons derived from organic materials such as wood, peat, or coal.
2. A black, oily, sticky, viscous substance, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons derived from organic materials such as wood, peat, or coal.
3. A sailor (because of the traditional tarpaulin clothes).
4. Black tar, a form of heroin.

## Etymology
PIE word
 *dóru
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 (dǎrvó, “tree”). More at tree.

## Easily confused with
- **to** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-to)
- **TV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-tv)
- **te** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-te)
- **TL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-tl)
- **TX** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-tx)
- **TD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-td)
- **ti** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-ti)
- **Tu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-tu)
- **Ty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-ty)
- **TB** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-tb)
- **TN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-tn)
- **TS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-ts)
- **TM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-tm)
- **TT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-tt)
- **TF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-tf)
- **TC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-tc)
- **TJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-tj)
- **tp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-tp)
- **TG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-tg)
- **TK** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tar-vs-tk)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tar