tartar

*****************************************************************
Discover the people and events that made history ON THIS DAY. 
Sign up for the free daily newsletter from Britannica.
http://register.britannica.com/mailinglist
*****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for August 17 is:

tartar   \TAR-ter\   noun 
     1 capitalized : a native or inhabitant of a vast historical 
region in Asia and Eastern Europe roughly extending from the Sea 
of Japan to the Dnieper
    *2 often capitalized : a person of irritable or violent 
temper 
     3 : one that proves to be unexpectedly formidable 

Example sentence:
     On the basketball court, Nate was a Tartar whose 
undisciplined behavior often got him in trouble with the referee.

Did you know?
     Originally, their name was "Tatar," not "Tartar." Since at 
least the 1200s, the Tatar people have lived in Asia and Eastern 
Europe, and they were among the fiercest fighters of the Golden 
Horde of the Mongols. In the 13th century, they rode with 
Genghis Khan and became the terror of their day. Their 
name, "Tatar," is believed to come from Persian or a Turkic 
language, but in Europe it was associated with "Tartarus," the 
Latin name for the part of Hell reserved for the punishment of 
the wicked. Because of that association, English speakers began 
calling the Tatar people "Tartars." Over time, "tartar" came to 
be used for anyone considered as ferocious or violent as the 
Tartar warriors who had once ransacked the ancient world.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence