Charmander tattoo by Pinkuh on DeviantArt

The word tattoo, or tattow in the 18th century, is a loanword from the Samoan wordtatau, meaning "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." Just 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 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, each 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 first 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 locations where they function as "tattoo shops", "tattoostudios" or "tattoo parlors".Mainstream art galleries hold exhibitions of eachtraditional and custom tattoo designs, such as Beyond Skin, at the Museumof Croydon. Copyrighted tattoo designs that are mass-developed and sent to tattoo artists are recognized as"flash", a notable instance of industrial design and style.[8] Flashsheets are prominently displayed in a lot of tattoo parlorsfor the purpose of providingeach inspiration and prepared-produced tattooimages to consumers.

The Japanese word irezumi signifies "insertion of ink"and can mean tattoos utilizing tebori, thetraditional Japanese hand strategy, a Western-style machine or anystrategy of tattooing using insertion of ink.The most widespread word utilized for classic Japanese tattoodesigns is horimono. Japanese may use the wordtattoo to mean non-Japanese styles of tattooing.