Cute Owl Tattoos 20 Stunning Designs

The word tattoo, or tattow in the 18th century, is a loanword from the Samoan word tatau, meaning "to strike". The Oxford English Dictionary offers the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. From Polynesian (Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, and so on.) tatau. In Marquesan, tatu." Ahead of the importation of the Polynesian word, the practice of tattooing had been described in the West as painting, scarring or staining.The etymology of the physique modification term is not to be confused with the origins of the word for the military drumbeat or functionality — see military tattoo. In this case, the English word tattoo is derived from the Dutch word taptoe.The very 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 now mention the way they mark themselves indelibly, each of them is so marked by their humour or disposition".[5] The word tattoo was brought to Europe by Cook, when he returned in 1769 from his very first voyage to Tahiti and New Zealand. In his narrative of the voyage, he refers to an operation known as "tattaw".

Tattoo enthusiasts may possibly refer to tattoos as "ink", "pieces", "skin art", "tattoo art", "tats" or "work"; to the creators as "tattoo artists", "tattooers" or "tattooists"; and to places where they operate as "tattoo shops", "tattoo studios" or "tattoo parlors".Mainstream art galleries hold exhibitions of both traditional and custom tattoo styles, such as Beyond Skin, at the Museum of Croydon. Copyrighted tattoo styles that are mass-developed and sent to tattoo artists are identified as "flash", a notable instance of industrial design.[8] Flash sheets are prominently displayed in many tattoo parlors for the objective of offering both inspiration and ready-produced tattoo photos to clients.

The Japanese word irezumi indicates "insertion of ink" and can imply tattoos employing tebori, the classic Japanese hand technique, a Western-style machine or any method of tattooing making use of insertion of ink. The most typical word utilised for standard Japanese tattoo styles is horimono. Japanese may possibly use the word tattoo to imply non-Japanese types of tattooing.