A woolen cloth woven in a distinctive plaid pattern of crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colors, associated with Scottish clans.
Possibly from Old French 'tiretaine' (a type of cloth), though the etymology is debated. The surprise is that the clan-specific tartan system is largely a 19th-century invention, not ancient Scottish tradition! Most 'traditional' clan tartans were created by Victorian textile manufacturers for commercial purposes. The idea that each clan had its own ancient tartan pattern is romantic fiction — real Highland dress was much more practical and less systematic than modern tartan mythology suggests.
Those 'ancient' clan tartans sold at Scottish festivals are mostly Victorian marketing inventions created by textile companies to sell more fabric to romantic tourists. Real medieval Scottish highlanders wore whatever practical cloth they could get, and the elaborate clan tartan system we know today was largely invented by 19th-century entrepreneurs capitalizing on romantic Scottish nationalism.
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