Etymology Dictionary

TART (1),  acrid, sour, sharp, severe.  (E.)   'Very tarte vinegar;' Sir T. Elyot, The Governour, b. iii. c. 22. § 15.   Spelt tarte also in Palsgrave.   'Poudre-marchant tart' = a sharp (tart) kind of flavouring powder; Chaucer, C. T. 381 (or 383).   [Not a tart, as in Stratmann.]—A.S. teart, tart, sharp, severe; Ælfric's Hom. ii. 344, l. 4 from bottom; ii. 590, l. 4 from bottom.   Lit. 'tearing,' just as bitter is from the notion of biting.—A.S. tær, pt. t. of teran, to tear; see Tear (1).   Der. tart-ly, -ness.

TART (2),  a small pie.  (F.,—L.)   M.E. tarte; pl. tartes, Rom. of Rose, 7043.—O.F. tarte, 'a tart;' Cot.   So called from the paste being twisted together; it is the same word as F. tourte, a tart, which must once have been spelt torte, as shewn by the dimin. forms tortel, a cake (Roquefort), torteau, a pancake (Cotgrave).   So also Ital. tartera, 'a tarte,' Florio, torta, a pie, tart, Span. torta, a round cake; Du. taart, Dan. tærte, G. torte, not Teutonic words.—Lat. torta, fem. of tortus, twisted, pp. of torquere, to twist; see Torture, Torsion.   Der. tart-let, from F. tartelette, 'a little tart;' Cot.