tartar
tar·tar/ˈtɑɹ.tɚ/noun
tartar is spelled T-A-R-T-A-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables (tar·tar). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tartar means “A red compound deposited during wine making, mostly potassium hydrogen tartrate; wine stone – a source of cream of tartar” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tartar is tartars.
How many letters and syllables are in tartar?
| Letters | 6: T-A-R-T-A-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: tar·tar |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,636th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is tartar?
Tartar appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tartar?
- US /ˈtɑɹ.tɚ/
- UK /ˈtɑː.tə/
Tartar has 2 syllables, split tar·tar in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-tartar.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tartar?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tartar from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹtəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of tartar
- tartars plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tartar mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A red compound deposited during wine making, mostly potassium hydrogen tartrate; wine stone – a source of cream of tartar.
- 2
A hard yellow deposit on the teeth, formed from dental plaque.
- 3
datedA fearsome or angrily violent person.
noun
- 1
Alternative spelling of Tatar.
- 2
A member of the various tribes and their descendants of Tartary, such as Turks, Mongols and Manchus.
- 3
datedA person of a keen, irritable temper.
- 4
A rough or violent event.
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to the people or culture of Tartars.
Tartar customs
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tartar in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense red compound deposited during wine making:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tartar come from?
From Old French tartre, from Medieval Latin tartarum, from Byzantine Greek τάρταρον (tártaron), said to be from Arabic دُرْدِيّ (durdiyy), though it is already found in Pelagonius’s Ars veterinaria 46 in the adjective tartarālis, if the reading is correct. Arabic etymon from Persian درد (dord, “dreg”) from Proto-Iranian *dr̥ti- (“manure, feces”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰṛ-to-, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreyd- (“to have diarrhea”), whence also doublet of dirt.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).