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Today it means

tattoo

a permanent design made on the skin by inserting ink

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Where does the word "tattoo" come from? It comes from Tahitian/Samoan tatau, and was adopted directly into English (1769).

Read the full story

Where does the word "tattoo" come from? It comes from Tahitian/Samoan tatau, and was adopted directly into English (1769).

Tattoo’s story begins in Tahitian/Samoan: tatau meant “to strike, to mark.” Described the traditional Polynesian practice of skin marking. It reached English by 1769 as tattoo. Recorded by Captain James Cook's crew in Tahiti. Today, tattoo means a permanent design made on the skin by inserting ink.

  1. Stage 1 · Tahitian/Samoan · pre-1700s tatau "to strike, to mark", described the traditional Polynesian practice of skin marking.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1769 tattoo "a permanent skin marking made by puncturing and inking", recorded by Captain James Cook's crew in Tahiti.

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