Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TAR, n. [Sax. tare, tyr, tyrwa; D. teer; G. theer; Sw. tiara; Dan. tiere; Gaelic, tearr. In. D. teeren signifies to smear with tar or pitch, and to pine, waste, consume, digest, prey, subsist, feast, and teer is tender, as well as tar. The D. teeren is the G. zehren, Dan. tærer, Sw. tära, to fret, gnaw, consume; Eng. tare, in commerce. Tar then is from flowing, or from wasting, perhaps in combustion.]

1. A thick impure resinous substance of a dark brown or black color, obtained from pine and fir trees, by burning the wood with a close smothering heat. Encyc. Cyc. Tar inspissated is called pitch, and is much used in ships and cordage. Cyc.
2. A sailor; so called from his tarred clothes.