<P> The word tattoo , or tattow in the 18th century , is a loanword from the Samoan word tatau , meaning `` to strike '' . The Oxford English Dictionary gives the etymology of tattoo as `` In 18th c. tattaow , tattow . From Polynesian ( Samoan , Tahitian , Tongan , etc . ) tatau . In Marquesan , tatu . '' Before the importation of the Polynesian word , the practice of tattooing had been described in the West as painting , scarring , or staining . </P>
<P> The word tattoo , or tattow in the 18th century , is a loanword from the Samoan word tatau , meaning `` to strike '' . The Oxford English Dictionary gives the etymology of tattoo as `` In 18th c. tattaow , tattow . From Polynesian ( Samoan , Tahitian , Tongan , etc . ) tatau . In Marquesan , tatu . '' Before the importation of the Polynesian word , the practice of tattooing had been described in the West as painting , scarring , or staining . </P>
where does the word tattoo come from and what does it mean
where does the word tattoo come from and what does it mean
a loanword from the Samoan word tatau , meaning `` to strike ''
a loanword from the Samoan word tatau , meaning `` to strike ''