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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 on.) 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 body modification term is not to be confused withthe origins of the word for the military drumbeat or performance — see military tattoo. In this case, theEnglish word tattoo is derived from the Dutch word taptoe.The 1st 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, every 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 hisvery first voyage to Tahiti and New Zealand. In his narrative of the voyage,he refers to an operation referred to as "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 locationsexactly where they operate as "tattoo shops", "tattoostudios" or "tattoo parlors".Mainstream art galleries hold exhibitions of both standard 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 identified as"flash", a notable instance of industrial style.[8] Flashsheets are prominently displayed in a lot of tattoo parlorsfor the purpose of supplyingboth inspiration and ready-made tattooimages to buyers.

The Japanese word irezumi means "insertion of ink"and can mean tattoos making use of tebori, thestandard Japanese hand technique, a Western-style machine or any technique of tattooing employing insertion of ink.The most widespread word used for standard Japanese tattoostyles is horimono. Japanese may use the wordtattoo to mean non-Japanese designs of tattooing.