A variant spelling of 'tar,' a dark sticky substance derived from coal or wood, or sailor (archaic).
From tar (Middle English terre, from Old Saxon tare; tar as a byproduct of industrial processes), or from Old English 'tar' meaning sailor. The spelling 'tarr' is archaic or regional.
Medieval sailors were called 'tars' possibly because they were covered in tar from maintaining wooden ships—so the nickname 'Jack Tar' for a British sailor is literally a reference to being tarred from constant ship maintenance.
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