tartars

Noun (1)

tartar (countable and uncountable, plural tartars)

1. A red compound deposited during wine making, mostly potassium hydrogen tartrate; wine stone — a source of cream of tartar.
   • In order to preserve it in the state of protoxide these receipts prescribe various deoxygenating substances to be stirred into the melted glass, such as Smith's clinkers, tartar, soot, rotten wood, and cinnibar.1847, editorial staff, “Painting on Glass”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 9, page 72

   Synonyms:

   wine stone

2. A hard yellow deposit on the teeth, formed from dental plaque.

Noun (2)

tartar (plural tartars)

1. (dated) A fearsome or angrily violent person.
   • Mrs. Begg said she liked Mrs. Dain, who was a sensible woman and a first-rate housewife, but that Gabrielle was a tartar.1929, Dashiell Hammett, chapter 3, in The Dain Curse, New York: Vintage, published 1972, page 28

See all 9 meanings of tartar