Tartan is a design for cloth traditionally associated with Scotland, and which has a number of distinctive types. The design is made up of lines of different widths and colours crossing each other at right angles. Tartan is also used to refer to cloth which has this pattern.
The corridors are carpeted in tartan.
...traditional tartan kilts.
tartan in British English1
(ˈtɑːtən)
noun
1.
a.
a design of straight lines, crossing at right angles to give a chequered appearance, esp the distinctive design or designs associated with each Scottish clan
the Buchanan tartan
b.
(as modifier)
a tartan kilt
2.
a woollen fabric or garment with this design
3. the tartan
Derived forms
tartaned (ˈtartaned)
adjective
Word origin
C16: perhaps from Old French tertaine linsey-woolsey, from Old Spanish tiritaña a fine silk fabric, from tiritar to rustle
tartan in British English2
(ˈtɑːtən)
noun
a single-masted vessel used in the Mediterranean, usually with a lateen sail
Word origin
C17: from French, perhaps from Provençal tartana falcon, buzzard, since a ship was frequently given the name of a bird
tartan in American English1
(ˈtɑrtən)
noun
1.
woolen cloth with a woven pattern of straight lines of different colors and widths crossing at right angles, esp. as worn in the Scottish Highlands, where each clan has its own pattern
2.
any plaid cloth like this
3.
any tartan pattern
4.
a garment made of tartan
adjective
5.
of, like, or made of tartan
Word origin
prob. < MFr tiretaine, a cloth of mixed fibers < OFr tiret, a kind of cloth < tire, cloth (of silk) from the East < ML tyrius, material from Tyre < L Tyrus, Tyre; sp. infl. by ME tartarin, a rich material < MFr (drap) tartarin, Tartar (cloth)
tartan in American English2
(ˈtɑrtən)
noun
a small, single-masted Mediterranean ship with a large lateen sail and a jib
Word origin
Fr tartane < It tartana, prob. ult. < Ar tarrād (colloquial form taṭrīda), small, swift kind of ship
Examples of 'tartan' in a sentence
tartan
She smoothed the wool tartan skirt that she had bought fifteen years ago and still used for everyday wear.
Wilcox, James SORT OF RICH (1990)
Word lists with
tartan
fabric
In other languages
tartan
British English: tartan /ˈtɑːtn/ ADJECTIVE
Tartan cloth, which traditionally comes from Scotland, has different coloured stripes crossing each other.
...traditional tartan kilts.
American English: tartan
Arabic: زِيْ الطرطان الاِسْكُتْلَنْدِيّ
Brazilian Portuguese: axadrezado
Chinese: 格子呢的
Croatian: tartan
Czech: kostkovaný
Danish: skotskternet
Dutch: Schotse ruit
European Spanish: tartán
Finnish: ruudullinen
French: écossais tissu
German: im Schottenmuster
Greek: ταρτάν
Italian: tessuto scozzese
Japanese: タータンの
Korean: 타탄의
Norwegian: skotskrutet
Polish: tartan
European Portuguese: axadrezado
Romanian: stofă ecosez
Russian: из шотландки
Latin American Spanish: tartán
Swedish: skotskrutig
Thai: ลายสกอต
Turkish: ekose
Ukrainian: шотландка картата тканина
Vietnamese: có kẻ ô vuông
British English: tartan NOUN
Tartan is a design for cloth traditionally associated with Scotland, which is made up of lines of different widths and colours crossing each other at right angles.