tar

The Sailor's Word-Book

[Anglo-Saxon tare]. A kind of turpentine which is drained from pines and fir-trees, and is used to preserve standing rigging, canvas, &c., from the effects of weather, by rendering them water-proof. Also, a perfect sailor; one who knows his duty thoroughly. (See jack tar.)

♦ Coal or gas tar. A fluid extracted from coal during the operation of making gas, &c.; chiefly used on wood and iron, in the place of paint.

Related Words

Tar
·noun A sailor; a seaman. II. Tar ·vt To smear with tar, or as with tar; as, to tar ropes; to tar c...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
tar
Don't lose a sheep for a halfpennyworth of tar: tar is used to mark sheep. A jack tar; a sailor. ...

Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
Coal tar
·- A thick, black, tarry liquid, obtained by the distillation of bituminous coal in the manufacture ...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
jack tar
A sailor. ...

Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
tar-wood
n. name given by the Otago bushmen tothe tree Darrydium colensoi, Hook.; Maori name, Manoao (q.v.)....

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
barbadoes-tar
A mineral fluid bitumen resembling petroleum, of nauseous taste and offensive smell. ...

The Sailor's Word-Book
coal-tar
Tar extracted from bituminous coal. ...

The Sailor's Word-Book
tar-brush, touch of the
A nautical term applied to those who are slightly darkened by mixed blood. ...

The Sailor's Word-Book
touch of the tar-brush
A nautical phrase expressive of those officers who are seamen as well as quarter-deckers. Also said ...

The Sailor's Word-Book