Tapu. See Taboo.
Tar, tär, v.t. to set on, incite to fight. [M. E. tarien, to irritate—A.S. tergan, to provoke.]
Tar, tär, n. a viscous, liquid, resinous substance of a dark colour, obtained from pine-trees: a sailor, so called from his tarred clothes.—v.t. to smear with tar:—pr.p. tar′ring; pa.t. and pa.p. tarred.—ns. Tar′heel, a North Carolinian; Tar′hood, sailors collectively.—Tar and feather, to smear with tar and then cover with feathers.—Be tarred with the same brush, or stick, to have the same faults as another; Have a touch of the tar-brush, to have an infusion of negro blood in the veins. [A.S. teoro, teru; Dut. teer.]
Tarabooka, ta-ra-bōō′ka, n. a drum-like instrument.
Tara-fern, tä′rä-fern, n. a New Zealand brake, with a thickened edible rhizome.
Tarantass, tar-an-tas′, n. a four-wheeled vehicle having a boat-shaped body, without springs. [Russ.]
Tarantella. See under Tarantism.
Tarantism, tar′ant-izm, n. an epidemic leaping or dancing mania, somewhat resembling chorea—also Tar′entism.—ns. Tarantel′la, Tarentel′la, a lively Neapolitan dance in triplets for one couple—thought a remedy for tarantism; Taran′tula, Taren′tula, a species of spider found in South Italy, whose bite is much dreaded, and was long supposed to cause tarantism. [It. tarantola—Taranto—L. Tarentum, a town in South Italy where the spider abounds.]
Taratantara, tar-a-tan-tar′a, n. or adv. a word imitative of the sound of a trumpet.—Also Tantar′a, Tarantar′a.
Taraxacum, tar-aks′a-kum, n. the root of the dandelion, a tonic laxative in diseases of the liver.—n. Tarax′acine, a crystallisable substance extracted from the foregoing. [A botanical Latin word, coined from Gr. taraxis, trouble—tarassein, to trouble. Davic refers to Ar. taras-acon, a kind of succory, Latinised in Avicenna as taraxacon.]