Derrick GooldBrian Murphy
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The less common noun tattoo comes from the Dutch colloquialism "tap toe," which can be translated as "turn off the tap," though it was most often used to mean something like "Shut up! Cease!" The Dutch began using the word taptoe for a drum beat, and then English speakers borrowed the term (changing it slightly, to taptoo and, eventually, to tattoo). It was used especially by the military to name a drum beat (or possibly a bugle call) that signaled the day's end. This taptoo most likely led to our taps, a term for the final bugle call at night in the military.
Examples of tattoo in a Sentence
Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 20 Nov. 2024
Wrapping her arms around their shoulders, Perry pointed to Carpenter's signature lip tattoo, which her nieces sported on their shoulders.
—Gabrielle Rockson, People.com, 20 Nov. 2024
Erin Hill, People.com, 21 Nov. 2024
For fans of the sport and the game, that team’s absurd team speed has been tattooed into memory.
—Christopher Kamrani, The Athletic, 8 July 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Tattoo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tattoo. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tattoo
1 of 3 noun
tattoo
2 of 3 verbtattoo
3 of 3 nounNoun
from earlier taptoo "a call to go to quarters for the night," from Dutch taptoe (same meaning), from the phrase tap toe! "taps shut!," used as a signal that the taps, or faucets, on the wine casks in a barroom were closed for the night
Verb
from a word in the Polynesian language of Tahiti tatau (noun) "the act of marking or coloring the skin"
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