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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, and so on.) 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 overallperformance — 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 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 could 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 bothtraditional and custom tattoo styles, such as Beyond Skin, at the Museumof Croydon. Copyrighted tattoo designs that are mass-made and sent to tattoo artists are known as"flash", a notable instance of industrial style.[8] Flashsheets are prominently displayed in many tattoo parlorsfor the objective of providingboth inspiration and prepared-created tattooimages to customers.

The Japanese word irezumi implies "insertion of ink"and can mean tattoos employing tebori, thestandard Japanese hand strategy, a Western-style machine or any method of tattooing employing insertion of ink.The most common word used for standard Japanese tattoostyles is horimono. Japanese could use the wordtattoo to imply non-Japanese styles of tattooing.