Valkyrie Tattoo Shop: Anchor 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 provides the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. From Polynesian (Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, etc.) 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 efficiency — 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, each and 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 1st voyage to Tahiti and New Zealand. In his narrative of the voyage, he refers to an operation known 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 perform as "tattoo shops", "tattoo studios" or "tattoo parlors".Mainstream art galleries hold exhibitions of both conventional 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 known as "flash", a notable instance of industrial design.[8] Flash sheets are prominently displayed in numerous tattoo parlors for the objective of providing each inspiration and ready-produced tattoo images to clients.

The Japanese word irezumi indicates "insertion of ink" and can imply tattoos utilizing tebori, the classic Japanese hand strategy, a Western-style machine or any method of tattooing utilizing insertion of ink. The most widespread word used for traditional Japanese tattoo designs is horimono. Japanese could use the word tattoo to imply non-Japanese types of tattooing.