tart

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a woman who engages in sexual intercourse for money
  2. noun a small open pie with a fruit filling
  3. noun a pastry cup with a filling of fruit or custard and no top crust

Etymology

From Middle English tart, from Old English teart (“sharp, rough, severe”), from Proto-West Germanic *tart, from Proto-Germanic *tartaz (“rough, sharp, tearing”), from Proto-Germanic *teraną (“to tear”), from Proto-Indo-European *der- (“to flay, split, cleave”). Related to Scots tairt (“tart; tartness”), Dutch tarten (“to defy, challenge, mock”), German trotzen (“to defy, brave, mock”), perhaps Albanian thartë (“sour, acid, sharp”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

prostitute, cocotte, whore, harlot, bawd, cyprian, fancy woman, working girl, sporting lady, lady of pleasure, woman of the street

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