Tartar \Tar"tar\, n. 1. [Per. T[=a]t[=a]r, of Tartar origin.] A native or inhabitant of Tartary in Asia; a member of any one of numerous tribes, chiefly Moslem, of Turkish origin, inhabiting the Russian Europe; -- written also, more correctly but less usually, {Tatar}. 2. A person of a keen, irritable temper. {To catch a tartar}, to lay hold of, or encounter, a person who proves too strong for the assailant. [Colloq.]