tattoo

Definition

An image made on a body part, usually the skin with ink and a needle.

Etymology

From earlier tattaow, tattow, a borrowing from a Polynesian language, e.g. Samoan tatau (“tattoo; to tap, to strike”).

Example Sentences

• "His shirt sleeves were turned up, so upon his brawny arms his tattooes were visible."
• "Nothing pleases a Burman more than to be asked to show his tattooes. He is as delighted as a collector of curios in England. They consist of a series of pictures of tigers, lions, elephants, dragons, demons, and what-not, surrounded by mottoes invoking good fortune, and round waist and knees the whole is framed by a neat floral or scroll pattern."
• "Almost a century and a half after the De Soto Expedition, Joutel (Cox, 1905, II: 139–140), one of La Salle’s men, reacted to the Caddoes in much the same way as had De la Vega, finding their tattooes particularly repulsive. The Caddoes used needles or other sharp-pointed objects to prick the skin until the blood flowed, and then rubbed powdered charcoal into the wounds. When the wounds healed, the charcoal remaining under the skin made striking tattooes."