Tartar \Tar"tar\, n.

1. [Per. T[=a]t[=a]r, of Tartar origin.]

A native or inhabitant of Tartary in Asia; a member of any one of numerous tribes, chiefly Moslem, of Turkish origin, inhabiting the Russian Europe; -- written also, more correctly but less usually, Tatar.

2. A person of a keen, irritable temper.

To catch a tartar, to lay hold of, or encounter, a person who proves too strong for the assailant. [Colloq.]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)