What is "tart"

Tart \Tart\, a. [AS. teart. [root]63. Cf. Tear, v. t.]

1. Sharp to the taste; acid; sour; as, a tart apple.

2. Fig.: Sharp; keen; severe; as, a tart reply; tart language; a tart rebuke.

   Why art thou tart, my brother?
   --Bunyan.

Tart \Tart\, n. [OE. tarte, F. tarte; perhaps originally the same word as tourte, LL. torta, fr. L. tortus, p. p. of torquere to twist, bend, wind, because tarts were originally made of a twisted shape. Cf. Torture, n.] A species of small open pie, or piece of pastry, containing jelly or conserve; a sort of fruit pie.

"having a sharp taste," 1520s, also attested once, obscurely, from late 14c., perhaps from Old English teart "painful, sharp, severe, rough" (in reference to punishment, pain, suffering), from Germanic *ter-t-, from PIE *der- (2) "to split, flay, peel" (see tear (v.1)), but the gap in the record is unexplained. Figurative use, with reference to words, speech, etc., is attested from c.1600. Related: Tartly; tartness, both also absent in Middle English.

"small pie," late 14c., from Old French tarte "flat, open-topped pastry" (13c.), possibly an alteration of torte, from Late Latin torta "round loaf of bread" (in Medieval Latin "a cake, tart"), perhaps from past participle of torquere "to twist."

1887, "prostitute, immoral woman," from earlier use as a term of endearment to a girl or woman (1864), sometimes said to be a shortening of sweetheart. But another theory traces it to jam-tart (see tart (n.1)), which was British slang early 19c. for "attractive woman." Diminutive tartlet attested from 1890. To tart (something) up is from 1938. Related: Tarted.

Etymology 1

1. 1 Sharp to the taste; acid; sour. 2 (context of wine English) high or too high in acidity. 3 (context figuratively English) Sharp; keen; severe. Etymology 2

   n. A type of small open pie, or piece of pastry, containing jelly or conserve; a sort of fruit pie. Etymology 3

   n. 1 (context British slang English) A prostitute. 2 (context British slang derogatory English) By extension, any woman with loose sexual morals. v

2. 1 To practice prostitution 2 To practice promiscuous sex 3 To dress garishly, ostentatiously, whorish,or slutty

1. adj. tasting sour like a lemon [syn: lemony, lemonlike, sourish, tangy]

2. harsh; "sharp criticism"; "a sharp-worded exchange"; "a tart remark" [syn: sharp, sharp-worded]

1. n. a woman who engages in sexual intercourse for money [syn: prostitute, cocotte, whore, harlot, bawd, cyprian, fancy woman, working girl, sporting lady, lady of pleasure, woman of the street]

2. a small open pie with a fruit filling

3. pastry cup with a filling of fruit or custard and no top crust

Tart is a 2001 coming of age film starring Dominique Swain, Bijou Phillips, and Brad Renfro.

A tart is a pastry dish, usually sweet in flavor, with an open top.

Tart may also mean:

A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with custard. Tartlet refers to a miniature tart; an example would be egg tarts. Examples of tarts include jam tarts, which may be different colours depending on the flavour of the jam used to fill them, and the Bakewell tart.

The categories of 'tart', ' flan', ' quiche', and ' pie' overlap, with no sharp distinctions. The French word tarte can be translated to mean either pie or tart, as both are mainly the same with the exception of a pie usually covering the filling in pastry, while flans and tarts leave it open. Tarts are also typically free-standing with firm pastry, thick filling, and perpendicular sides while pies may have softer pastry, looser filling, and sloped sides, necessitating service from the pie plate. The Italian crostata, dating to at least the mid-15th century, has been described as a "rustic free-form version of an open fruit tart".

Early medieval tarts generally had meat fillings, but later ones were often based on fruit and custard.

Tarte Tatin is an upside-down tart, of apples, other fruit, or onions.

Savoury tarts include quiche, a family of savoury tarts with a mostly custard filling; German Zwiebelkuchen 'onion tart', and Swiss cheese tart made from Gruyere.