- tart (adj.)
- "having a sharp taste," late 14c., perhaps from Old English teart "painful, sharp, severe" (in reference to punishment, pain, suffering), of unknown origin; possibly related to the root of teran "to tear." Figurative use, with reference to words, speech, etc., is attested from c.1600.
- tart (n.1)
- "small pie," c.1400, from Old French tarte "flat, open-topped pastry" (13c.), possibly an alteration of torte, from Late Latin torta "round loaf of bread" (in Medieval Latin "a cake, tart"), infl. in Middle English by tart (adj.).
- tart (n.2)
- "prostitute," 1887, from earlier use as a term of endearment to a girl or woman (1864), sometimes said to be a shortening of sweetheart. But another theory traces it to jam-tart (see tart (n.1)), which was British slang early 19c. for "attractive woman." To tart (something) up is from 1938.