What does tatar mean?
Tatar most commonly denotes a dish of raw, finely chopped meat, usually beef, seasoned with ingredients such as onion, capers, mustard, or oil and served without cooking. It can also mean a light riding saddle with a high pommel and cantle, a type historically associated with Tatar cavalry. When written with a capital T, the word refers to the Tatar people, their language, or their culture. The culinary sense is especially familiar in American English, whereas British usage often uses tartare for the dish and for a related egg-yolk sauce. Although the raw-meat preparation is now closely identified with refined restaurants and international cuisine, its name reflects a historical attribution to the Tatars. The word’s combination of culinary, equestrian, and cultural meanings makes it unusually versatile in ordinary English.
A seasoned preparation of raw, finely chopped beef or other meat, served cold. Also a light riding saddle with a high pommel and cantle, or a member of the Tatar people when capitalized.
"He ordered the beef tatar and drank sparkling water."
The food sense is especially common in American English; the ethnic reference is capitalized as Tatar.
Relating to the Tatar people, their language, or their culture.
"The exhibition presented Tatar music, textiles, and oral traditions."
Usually capitalized as Tatar when referring to the people or their culture.
The plural is used chiefly for members of the Tatar people; capitalized Tatars is the usual form in that sense.
"Tatar communities celebrated the festival with music and traditional food."
The raw-meat dish bears a people’s name: its origins reflect a historical association of chopped meat with the Tatars.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tatar come from?
English borrowed the culinary and saddle senses through French, where the forms tatar and tartare developed from the ethnonym Tatar. The culinary name associated the preparation with the Tatars and came to denote chopped raw meat. The related French word tartare survived in English both as a culinary variant and as the name of an egg-yolk sauce; Tataric and Tatarstan preserve the same ethnonym in related linguistic and geographical forms.
How tatar is actually used
In American English, tatar is common for the raw-meat dish, while British usage more often favors tartare. The ethnic and cultural reference is capitalized as Tatar and should not be treated as synonymous with Mongol.
Easily confused with tatar
Tatar usually denotes finely chopped raw meat, whereas tartare more often denotes an emulsified sauce made with egg yolk, oil, and seasonings, although some culinary sources also use tartare for the raw-meat dish.