Kurt Vonnegut\u002639;s \u0026quot;Asterisk\u0026quot; \u2022 Contrariwise: Literary Tattoos

Kurt Vonnegut\u002639;s \u0026quot;Asterisk\u0026quot; \u2022 Contrariwise: Literary Tattoos $Kurt Vonnegut\u002639;s \u0026quot;Asterisk\u0026quot; \u2022 Contrariwise: Literary Tattoos$

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." Just before 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 body modification term is not to be confused with the origins of the word for the military drumbeat or performance — 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 very 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 "tattoo artists", "tattooers" or "tattooists"; and to areas exactly where they operate as "tattoo shops", "tattoo studios" or "tattoo parlors".Mainstream art galleries hold exhibitions of both traditional and custom tattoo designs, such as Beyond Skin, at the Museum of Croydon. Copyrighted tattoo styles that are mass-made and sent to tattoo artists are recognized as "flash", a notable instance of industrial style.[8] Flash sheets are prominently displayed in many tattoo parlors for the purpose of delivering both inspiration and prepared-made tattoo images to customers.

The Japanese word irezumi means "insertion of ink" and can mean tattoos utilizing tebori, the standard Japanese hand method, a Western-style machine or any method of tattooing using insertion of ink. The most frequent word used for traditional Japanese tattoo designs is horimono. Japanese may use the word tattoo to mean non-Japanese styles of tattooing.