Tar
/tɑːr/noun
A thick, dark, sticky substance produced by the destructive distillation of wood, coal, or peat; also, a dark viscous petroleum residue.
Did you know?The English word tar comes from a Germanic root tied to pine resin and pitch, and its history is entwined with shipbuilding, where this dark substance literally kept vessels from leaking apart.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*deru-
“tree, wood, or something made of wood”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*terwō
“tar, pitch, resinous substance”
Old English
OE
teoru
“tar, pitch, resin”
Old Norse
ON
tjara
“tar”
Middle English
English
tar
“tar, pitch”
Modern English
English
tar
“a dark viscous substance used for coating, sealing, and paving”