Tartary

[ tahr-tuh-ree ]

noun

1. the historical name of a region of indefinite extent in E Europe and Asia: designates the area overrun by the Tartars in the Middle Ages, from the Dnieper River to the Pacific.

Tartary

/ ˈtɑːtərɪ /

noun

1. a variant spelling of Tatary

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tartary¹

1350–1400; Middle English Tartarye < Middle French Tartarie < Medieval Latin Tartaria. See tartar, -y ³

Example Sentences

They introduce their subject with the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary — a tree that reportedly grew gourd-like fruit filled with tiny lambs.

From New York Times

When a similar coup takes place in nearby Crim Tartary, little Princess Rosalba flees into the forest, where she is raised by lions.

From Washington Post

As shaggy as the mythical Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, willow buds emerge covered in dense woolly fur, as soft as a kitten’s paws.

From New York Times

As Food Week comes to an end here at SciAmBlogs, I thought it important to consider that which sits on the precipice of the animal and the vegetable: The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary.

From Scientific American

Punch is now exhibited daily in every civilized and semi-civilized land or earth—in China, Siam, India, Japan, Tartary, Russia, Egypt, everywhere.

From Project Gutenberg