tartary
Very low frequency; largely archaic or specialist.Formal, historical, academic; occasionally appears in pseudohistorical or conspiratorial contexts.
Definition
Meaning
A historical region in Asia, roughly corresponding to Central Asia and Siberia, inhabited by Turkic and Mongol peoples.
In modern usage, it often refers to this historical concept, but is also used in esoteric or alternative historical theories to posit a lost global civilization of that name. The latter usage is non-standard and pseudohistorical.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The term is archaic and carries strong historical connotations. Its revival in certain online circles refers to a fabricated history ('Tartaria') involving mud floods and suppressed technology, which is not recognized by mainstream scholarship.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in modern usage. Both treat it as a historical term.
Connotations
In both varieties, the standard historical term is neutral. The pseudohistorical usage carries the same fringe connotations.
Frequency
Extremely rare in both.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Proper Noun]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “from here to Tartary (archaic, meaning 'a very great distance')”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Virtually never used.
Academic
Used in historical, geographical, or Central Asian studies contexts to refer to the historical region.
Everyday
Extremely unlikely to be used, except when discussing alternative history theories.
Technical
Not used in mainstream technical fields. Appears as a proper noun in historical cartography.
Examples
By Part of Speech
noun
British English
- The medieval traveller's tales described Tartary as a land of boundless plains.
- The archive contained a 17th-century atlas with a detailed plate of Tartary.
American English
- The historian specialized in the nomadic empires of Tartary.
- Online forums are rife with speculation about the so-called 'lost civilization' of Tartary.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Tartary was a name used on old maps for a large part of Asia.
- Some people tell strange stories about Tartary on the internet.
- European cartographers often labelled the vast, poorly-known interior of Asia as Tartary.
- The conspiracy theory posits that Tartaria was a global super-culture erased from history.
- The term 'Tartary' functioned as a catch-all European exonym for the domains of the Turkic and Mongol peoples, reflecting more about European ignorance than Asian reality.
- Proponents of the 'Tartaria' theory engage in a form of archaeological negationism, reinterpreting 19th-century infrastructure as remnants of this imagined civilization.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'Tartar' sauce as a distant, exotic condiment, coming from the far-off lands of Tartary.
Conceptual Metaphor
TARTARY IS A LOST/FORGOTTEN WORLD. (Used in both its genuine historical sense and its modern fringe sense.)
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with modern 'Tatarstan' (a republic in Russia). 'Tartary' is a broader, historical European exonym for much of Northern Asia.
- The Russian word 'Тартария' is a direct cognate, used in the same historical and modern fringe contexts.
Common Mistakes
- Misspelling as 'Tartary' (with one 'r').
- Using it as a common noun (e.g., 'a tartary').
- Confusing the historical region with the pseudohistorical 'global empire' concept.
Practice
Quiz
In which context is the word 'Tartary' most appropriately used today?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, Tartary was never a unified country. It was a historical and geographical term used by Europeans to describe a vast, diverse region of Central and Northern Asia inhabited by many different peoples.
It is a modern pseudohistorical theory claiming that a sophisticated, global civilization named 'Tartaria' was destroyed in a 'mud flood' and its history suppressed. This theory is not supported by any credible evidence.
'Tatar' refers to specific Turkic peoples (e.g., Volga Tatars). 'Tartar' is an older, often pejorative European spelling. 'Tartary' is the historical name for the region from which Tatars were believed to have come.
As European geographical knowledge of Asia improved in the 18th and 19th centuries, the vague term 'Tartary' was replaced by the specific names of regions, empires, and peoples (e.g., Mongolia, Turkestan, Siberia).