Dragon and Tiger by UnbrokenShadow on DeviantArt

The word tattoo, or tattow in the 18th century, is a loanword from the Samoan wordtatau, which means "to strike". The Oxford English Dictionaryprovides the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. FromPolynesian (Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, and so forth.) 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 overallperformance — see military tattoo. In this case, theEnglish word tattoo is derived from the Dutch word taptoe.The first 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, each and 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 his initial 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 areas where they work 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 identified as"flash", a notable instance of industrial style.[8] Flashsheets are prominently displayed in several tattoo parlorsfor the goal of providingboth inspiration and prepared-produced tattooimages to clients.

The Japanese word irezumi implies "insertion of ink"and can imply tattoos making use of tebori, thetraditional Japanese hand technique, a Western-style machine or anystrategy of tattooing employing insertion of ink.The most typical wordutilised for classic Japanese tattoostyles is horimono. Japanese might use the wordtattoo to imply non-Japanese types of tattooing.