tartar or argol, impure potassium hydrogen tartrate deposited as a crust in fermenting vessels during wine making. When purified, it yields cream of tartar. Tartar is the chief natural source of tartaric acid.

tartar, dental, precipitate of saliva that accumulates around teeth at the gum line. Composed primarily of calcium salts, tartar forms as a hard brownish substance that irritates gums and causes them to recede. Inflammation of this tissue may lead to the recession and infection of the bones in which teeth are imbedded and result in the loosening and loss of teeth. As symptoms may not become apparent until serious damage has occurred, periodic dental visits for the removal of tartar are recommended.

Tartar may refer to:

• An alternate spelling of the name Tatars, an ethnic group in present-day Russia (this term formerly extended to nearly all Central Asian, Turkic and Mongol ethnic groups)
• Tartar sauce
• Calculus (dental), hardened dental plaque
• Salts of tartaric acid
• Cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate)
• Tartar emetic (antimony potassium tartrate)
• Tartar Rayon, a rayon in Azerbaijan
• Tərtər, capital of Tartar Rayon, Azerbaijan
• Tartar, Switzerland, a village in the Grisons
• Steak tartare, a meat dish made from ground raw beef
• Tartars, a name applied to the enemy invaders in The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati
• Tartar, a GWR Iron Duke Class steam locomotive
• RIM-24 Tartar missile
• Tartar Guided Missile Fire Control System

See also

• Tatar (disambiguation)