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Tartare

4 stages from Old Turkic to English.

Today it means finely chopped raw meat or fish, as in steak tartare

Where does the word "tartare" come from? It comes from Old Turkic Tatar, passing through Medieval Latin and French before entering English (1900s).

Tatar→Tartarus→tartare→tartare

Old Turkic · 700s

"the Tatar people"

an ethnic name first recorded in the Orkhon inscriptions of the 730s

Medieval Latin · 1240s

"Tatar, Mongol"

after the Mongol invasion of 1241, chroniclers such as Matthew Paris added an 'r', punning on Tartarus, the classical hell

French · 1800s

"in the Tatar style"

'sauce tartare' and dishes 'à la tartare' were named for the supposedly wild Tatars; the tale that they tenderized meat under their saddles is a legend

English · 1900s

"raw chopped meat dish"

'steak tartare' appears on English menus in the early 1900s

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Tartare’s story begins in Old Turkic: Tatar meant “the Tatar people.” An ethnic name first recorded in the Orkhon inscriptions of the 730s. By 1240s, the word had taken hold in Medieval Latin as Tartarus. After the Mongol invasion of 1241, chroniclers such as Matthew Paris added an 'r', punning on Tartarus, the classical hell. From there it passed into French as tartare by 1800s. 'sauce tartare' and dishes 'à la tartare' were named for the supposedly wild Tatars; the tale that they tenderized meat under their saddles is a legend. It reached English by 1900s as tartare. 'steak tartare' appears on English menus in the early 1900s. Today, tartare means finely chopped raw meat or fish, as in steak tartare.