From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtartantar‧tan /ˈtɑːtn $ ˈtɑːrtn/ noun [countable, uncountable]DC a traditional Scottish pattern of coloured squares and crossed lines, or cloth, especially wool cloth, with this pattern SYN plaid American English the MacGregor tartan (=the special pattern worn by the MacGregor family) —tartan adjective a tartan scarf
Examples from the Corpus
tartan• Monarch of the Glen is 100 % tartan flannel.• Clans, kilts, and tartans were explained.• Using different colours can change the scale and shape of things and tartan is a natural progression from this.• I saw her sitting there, in her green tartan dress.• Their townsfolk sneered at the Maclean chiefs' rawhide brogans and bare knees, kilted tartans and dyed linens.• And while we are at it, how many tartans are there?• I had worn my red tartan plaid jacket, the one I wear only on weekends.• A sudden gust lifted his resplendent tartan for all to see ... a pair of blue briefs.Origin tartan (1400-1500) Probably from Old French tiretaine type of cloth 