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The word tattoo, or tattow in the 18th century, is a loanword from the Samoan word tatau, which means "to strike". The Oxford English Dictionary provides the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. From Polynesian (Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, and so forth.) tatau. In Marquesan, tatu." Prior to 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 performance — see military tattoo. In this case, the English word tattoo is derived from the Dutch word taptoe.The 1st written reference to the word tattoo (or tatau) seems 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 single 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 initial 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 locations where they perform as "tattoo shops", "tattoo studios" or "tattoo parlors".Mainstream art galleries hold exhibitions of each traditional and custom tattoo designs, such as Beyond Skin, at the Museum of Croydon. Copyrighted tattoo designs that are mass-produced and sent to tattoo artists are identified as "flash", a notable instance of industrial design.[8] Flash sheets are prominently displayed in numerous tattoo parlors for the purpose of offering both inspiration and ready-created tattoo pictures to customers.

The Japanese word irezumi means "insertion of ink" and can imply tattoos using tebori, the conventional Japanese hand technique, a Western-style machine or any method of tattooing making use of insertion of ink. The most frequent word utilized for standard Japanese tattoo styles is horimono. Japanese might use the word tattoo to imply non-Japanese styles of tattooing.