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The word tattoo, or tattow in the 18th century, is a loanword from the Samoan wordtatau, meaning "to strike". The Oxford English Dictionaryprovides the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. FromPolynesian (Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, etc.) tatau. InMarquesan, tatu." Prior to 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 efficiency — 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)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 named "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 areas where they work 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 styles that are mass-produced 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 objective of offeringboth inspiration and ready-made tattoopictures to customers.

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