Tartary

T1A1R1T1A1R1Y4

proper noun

A blanket term for the Eurasian Steppe, Central Asia, and Siberia.

OriginOld French Tartarie ← Old Turkic 𐱃𐱃𐰺 ← Latin Tartarus →
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Meanings

Tartary1

proper noun

alternative Tatary

  1. archaicA blanket term for the Eurasian Steppe, Central Asia, and Siberia.
  2. archaicChinese Tartary; regions outside of China proper inhabited by non-Han Chinese populations.

Tartary2

proper noun

alternative Tatary

  1. obsoleteObsolete form of Tartarus.

    An huge great Dragon horrible in ſight, Bred in the loathly lakes of Tartary

    1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 102

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
tartariatatary

Origin

Tartary · proper noun

  1. Ancient GreekΤάρταρος
  2. LatinTartarus“Hell (in Greek mythology)”
  3. Old Turkic𐱃𐱃𐰺
  4. Old FrenchTartarie
  5. EnglishTartary

From Old French Tartarie, from Medieval Latin Tartaria (“land of the Tartars”), from Old Turkic 𐱃𐱃𐰺 (t¹t¹r¹) , spelling influenced by Latin Tartarus (“Hell (in Greek mythology)”), from Ancient Greek Τάρταρος (Tártaros).

More words from Old French, Old Turkic, Latin

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Tartary · proper noun

  1. Ancient GreekΤάρταρος
  2. LatinTartarus
  3. Old FrenchTartaire
  4. EnglishTartary

From Old French Tartaire, from Latin Tartarus, from Ancient Greek Τάρταρος (Tártaros).

More words from Old French, Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese 韃靼利亞 /鞑靼利亚
  • 韃靼利亞 /鞑靼利亚 (Dádálìyǎ)historical term for the Eurasian steppes and Central Asia
French Tartarie
  • Tartariehistorical term for the Eurasian steppes and Central Asia
Hungarian Tatárország, Tatárföld
  • Tatárországhistorical term for the Eurasian steppes and Central Asia
  • Tatárföldhistorical term for the Eurasian steppes and Central Asia
Latin Tartaria
  • Tartariahistorical term for the Eurasian steppes and Central Asia
Polish Tartaria
  • Tartariahistorical term for the Eurasian steppes and Central Asia
Russian Тарта́рия
  • Тарта́рия (Tartárija)historical term for the Eurasian steppes and Central Asia

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Tartary

arteryalloarterymicroarterysparterie
All rhymes →

Anagrams

Rattray
Cite this entry
APA

Tartary. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tartary

MLA

“Tartary.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tartary. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Tartary,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tartary.

Source: Tartary on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.