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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, and so forth.) tatau. InMarquesan, tatu." Ahead of 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 overallperformance — see military tattoo. In this case, theEnglish word tattoo is derived from the Dutch word taptoe.The very first written reference to the word tattoo (or tatau)appears 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 named "tattaw".

Tattoo enthusiasts may refer to tattoos as "ink","pieces", "skin art", "tattoo art", "tats" or "work"; to the creators as "tattooartists", "tattooers" or "tattooists"; and to areas where they operate as "tattoo shops", "tattoostudios" or "tattoo parlors".Mainstream art galleries hold exhibitions of each conventional and custom tattoo designs, such as Beyond Skin, at the Museumof Croydon. Copyrighted tattoo styles that are mass-made and sent to tattoo artists are recognized as"flash", a notable instance of industrial style.[8] Flashsheets are prominently displayed in many tattoo parlorsfor the purpose of supplyingboth inspiration and ready-produced tattooimages to buyers.

The Japanese word irezumi implies "insertion of ink"and can mean tattoos using tebori, theconventional Japanese hand method, a Western-style machine or anystrategy of tattooing utilizing insertion of ink.The most frequent word employed for traditional Japanese tattoostyles is horimono. Japanese may use the wordtattoo to mean non-Japanese designs of tattooing.