A person from
Tatarstan; or the
Turkic language of
Tatarstan. It is often written
Tartar, which is probably an erroneous adaptation of the name to Greek
Tartaros, an abode of the dead.
Historically, applied to any of various steppe peoples. Modern Tatarstan, whose capital is at Kazan, was known as Kazan Tartary. Crimea was also inhabited by Tatars, until their deportation by Stalin, and was earlier known as Crim Tartary.
The word 'tartar' in the sense of 'termagant, fierce person' derives from memories of these hordes.