THEY HEARD THE warnings so many times. They would leave for a few hours or a day and return. It

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, 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 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, 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 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 locations where they function as "tattoo shops", "tattoostudios" or "tattoo parlors".Mainstream art galleries hold exhibitions of bothtraditional and custom tattoo designs, such as Beyond Skin, at the Museumof Croydon. Copyrighted tattoo designs that are mass-made and sent to tattoo artists are recognized as"flash", a notable instance of industrial design.[8] Flashsheets are prominently displayed in numerous tattoo parlorsfor the purpose of deliveringeach inspiration and ready-made tattooimages to consumers.

The Japanese word irezumi signifies "insertion of ink"and can mean tattoos utilizing tebori, thestandard Japanese handapproach, a Western-style machine or anystrategy of tattooing utilizing insertion of ink.The most common word employed for standard Japanese tattoodesigns is horimono. Japanese might use the wordtattoo to mean non-Japanese designs of tattooing.