Voo doo tattoo by Matty Runks. Electric LadyLand, New Orleans Inky\u0026 Pinterest

Voo doo tattoo by Matty Runks. Electric LadyLand, New Orleans Inky\u0026 Pinterest $Voo doo tattoo by Matty Runks. Electric LadyLand, New Orleans Inky\u0026 Pinterest$

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 performance — 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)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 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 1st voyage to Tahiti and New Zealand. In his narrative of the voyage,he refers to an operation referred to as "tattaw".

Tattoo enthusiasts might refer to tattoos as "ink","pieces", "skin art", "tattoo art", "tats" or "work"; to the creators as "tattooartists", "tattooers" or "tattooists"; and to places where they operate as "tattoo shops", "tattoostudios" or "tattoo parlors".Mainstream art galleries hold exhibitions of each conventional and custom tattoo styles, 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 numerous tattoo parlorsfor the objective of offeringboth inspiration and ready-made tattoophotos to customers.

The Japanese word irezumi implies "insertion of ink"and can imply tattoos making use of tebori, theclassic Japanese hand strategy, a Western-style machine or any technique of tattooing utilizing insertion of ink.The most typical word used for standard Japanese tattoodesigns is horimono. Japanese may use the wordtattoo to mean non-Japanese types of tattooing.