Dictionary

tartareous en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /tɑːˈtɛəɹi.əs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /tɑɹˈtɛɹi.əs/ (General-American)

Etymology

From tartar + -eous, compare tartarous.

Meanings

1. Consisting of tartar; of the nature of tartar
2. Having a rough, crumbly surface.
   • Many lichens are tartareous.
3. Of or pertaining to Tartarus; hellish.
   • His brooding wings the Spirit of God outspread, / And vital virtue infused and vital warmth, / Throughout the fluid mass, but downward purged / The black, tartareous, cold, infernal, dregs / Adverse to life: then founded, then conglobed / Like things to like. 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost, Chicago: Donohue & Henneberry, page 237:

Forms