tartan
tartan Lexical Profile
tartan Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Made of tartan cloth, or decorated with a checkered pattern of intersecting colored stripes.
"She wore a pleated tartan skirt and a heavy woolen sweater to the autumn festival."
• noun
A woolen cloth woven in one of several patterns of colored checks and intersecting lines, especially of a design associated with a particular Scottish clan.
"The tailor measured out several yards of heavy tartan to make a traditional kilt."
A distinctive pattern of colored checks and intersecting horizontal and vertical stripes characteristic of Scottish tartan cloth.
"Each Highland clan can be identified by the specific colors and arrangement of its family tartan."
A small, single-masted sailing vessel with a large lateen sail, traditionally used in the Mediterranean Sea for fishing and coastal trade.
"The coastal merchants loaded olive oil and wine onto a wooden tartan bound for Marseille."
Word Nuance & Usage
In North American usage, "plaid" is commonly used as a synonym for the checkered pattern of tartan; however, in traditional Scottish usage, "tartan" refers to the patterned cloth itself, while a "plaid" is a large piece of tartan fabric worn over the shoulder as part of Highland dress.
• Rhymes for tartan
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Middle Scots tartane in the late 15th century, likely via Old French tiretaine (a coarse cloth made of wool and linen) or Spanish tiritaña (a thin silk or woolen fabric).