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The word tattoo, or tattow in the 18th century, is a loanword from the Samoan word tatau, meaning "to strike". The Oxford English Dictionary gives the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. From Polynesian (Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, etc.) 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 initial 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, every 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 1st 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 "tattoo artists", "tattooers" or "tattooists"; and to places where they perform as "tattoo shops", "tattoo studios" or "tattoo parlors".Mainstream art galleries hold exhibitions of each traditional and custom tattoo styles, such as Beyond Skin, at the Museum of Croydon. Copyrighted tattoo designs that are mass-developed and sent to tattoo artists are identified as "flash", a notable instance of industrial style.[8] Flash sheets are prominently displayed in several tattoo parlors for the purpose of supplying each inspiration and ready-produced tattoo pictures to customers.

The Japanese word irezumi implies "insertion of ink" and can mean tattoos using tebori, the traditional Japanese hand technique, a Western-style machine or any approach of tattooing using insertion of ink. The most common word utilized for standard Japanese tattoo styles is horimono. Japanese could use the word tattoo to mean non-Japanese styles of tattooing.