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The word tattoo, or tattow in the 18th century, is a loanword from the Samoan wordtatau, which means "to strike". The Oxford English Dictionary gives the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. FromPolynesian (Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, etc.) tatau. InMarquesan, tatu." Before the importation of thePolynesian word, the practice of tattooing had been described in the West aspainting, scarring or staining.The etymology of the physique modification term is not to be confused withthe origins of the word for the military drumbeat or functionality — see military tattoo. In this case, theEnglish word tattoo is derived from the Dutch word taptoe.The initial written reference to the word tattoo (or tatau)seems in the journal of Joseph Banks (24 February 1743 – 19 June 1820),the naturalist aboard explorer James Cook's ship HMS Endeavour: "I shall nowmention the way they mark themselves indelibly, everysingle of them is so marked by their humour or disposition".[5] The word tattoowas brought to Europe by Cook, when he returned in 1769 from his initial voyage to Tahiti and New Zealand. In his narrative of the voyage,he refers to an operation called "tattaw".

Tattoo enthusiasts may possibly refer to tattoos as "ink","pieces", "skin art", "tattoo art", "tats" or "work"; to the creators as "tattooartists", "tattooers" or "tattooists"; and to places where they perform as "tattoo shops", "tattoostudios" or "tattoo parlors".Mainstream art galleries hold exhibitions of both conventional and custom tattoo designs, such as Beyond Skin, at the Museumof Croydon. Copyrighted tattoo styles that are mass-produced and sent to tattoo artists are known as"flash", a notable instance of industrial design.[8] Flashsheets are prominently displayed in numerous tattoo parlorsfor the objective of offeringboth inspiration and ready-produced tattoophotos to buyers.

The Japanese word irezumi signifies "insertion of ink"and can mean tattoos making use of tebori, thetraditional Japanese hand technique, a Western-style machine or any method of tattooing using insertion of ink.The most frequent word used for standard Japanese tattoodesigns is horimono. Japanese may possibly use the wordtattoo to imply non-Japanese types of tattooing.