Tatar became a name for populations of the former Golden Horde in Europe, such as those of Astrakhan, Crimea and Kazan. The term Tatar entered European languages from Turkish and Persian: (tātār – mounted messenger), first recorded in the 13th century. The extra r (tartar) was present in the Western forms from the moment the name was coined. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, this was most likely due to an association with Tartarus, the dungeon of the gods according to Greek mythology.
Tatar became a name for populations of the former Golden Horde in Europe
