tarpot en · NOUN
Etymology
From tar + pot.
Meanings
-
A pot used for carrying tar.
Tarpots bubbled over driftwood fires where men calked the seams of smacks and shallops and patched their dugout canoes.
1964, Robert Carse, The seafarers: a history of maritime America, 1620-1820:“Oh, that’s it,” said Oak, jumping up, and dismissing for the present his thoughts on poor Fanny. “You are a good boy to run and tell me, Cain, and you shall smell a large plum pudding some day as a treat. But, before we go, Cainy, bring the tarpot, and we’ll mark this lot and have done with ’em.”
1874, Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| tarpots | Number=Plur | lexicographic |