name
Tara
TAH-ruh
name
1
An Irish place name, associated with the Hill of Tara, seat of ancient Irish kings.
"No more to chiefs and ladies bright The harp of Tara swells"
— Thomas Moore (1808)
2
An Irish place name, associated with the Hill of Tara, seat of ancient Irish kings. A small settlement in County Meath, Ireland, near the Hill of Tara (Irish grid ref N 9458)
3
A female given name transferred from the place name, of 20th century and later usage.
"Many had already taken out loans and purchased equipment in preparation for the program’s continuation, said Tara Roberts-Turner, general manager of the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative (WFHC), a farmer-led distribution network serving more than 400 farmers and the state’s largest food hub."
— (2025)
4
A male given name.
"the story of Tara Cochrane, a war veteran, a physician, and a burned-out man who describes himself in terms of a bad cigarette"
— Janice Holt Giles (1952)
5
Some other places named Tara, all likely after the Irish hill: A community in Arran-Elderslie municipality, Bruce County, Ontario, Canada.
6
Some other places named Tara, all likely after the Irish hill: An unincorporated community in Manatee County, Florida, United States.
7
Some other places named Tara, all likely after the Irish hill: A township in Swift County, Minnesota, United States.
8
Some other places named Tara, all likely after the Irish hill: A township in Traverse County, Minnesota.
9
Some other places named Tara, all likely after the Irish hill: A locality in the Temora council area, central New South Wales, Australia.
10
Some other places named Tara, all likely after the Irish hill: A town in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia.
11
A female Buddha typically associated with Buddhist tantra practice as preserved in Tibetan Buddhism. She is the "mother of liberation", and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements.
12
A female given name from Sanskrit.
13
A surname.
14
A barangay of Bolinao, Pangasinan, Philippines.
15
A barangay of Coron, Palawan, Philippines.
16
A barangay of Sipocot, Camarines Sur, Philippines.
17
A barangay of Mabinay, Negros Oriental, Philippines.
18
A transliteration of the Persian female given name تارا (târâ).
intj
1
informal Goodbye.
"2004: Metro in This is London (website of London Evening Standard), Jolie says ta-ra to Lara - Pssst...Actress Angelina Jolie's days as Tomb Raider action hero Lara Croft are over."
noun
1
The tern.
"These are Hine-karoro (origin and personification of the karoro, or black-billed gull), the next born being Hine-tara (the tara, or tern); the next is Hine-tore. The last born of that lot was Punga, the origin of[…]"
— Royal Society of New Zealand (1909)
"Another account says that a tara (tern) and other birds alighted at Tahunatapu, the first part of the fish to surface, and that Maui greeted its appearance with an incantation that included the words : Appears the great land lying[…]"
— Alexander Wyclif Reed (1977)
"Most numerous and widespread of the terns of Aotearoa are the tara, or white-fronted terns. Another species, also named tara , is the smaller black-fronted tern.[…]"
— Margaret Orbell (2003)
"Again it is said that the tara (tern) alighted on the new land at Tahunatapu, the first part to emerge from the sea, and was followed by other birds. Māui recited an incantation of welcome which included the words : Appears the[…]"
— Alexander Wyclif Reed (2004)
2
A small silver coin current in South India at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese.
"The only silver coin of this empire reported so far is a Tara of the time of Pratāpa devaraya."
— The Journal of the Numismatic Society of India (1979)
3
A plant native to Peru, the spiny holdback, Tara spinosa
"The pods of the tara plant are used to make tara gum and tara flour. The latter has been found to be an unapproved food additive."
— (2024)
Word Forms
Taras plural, taras plural, taras plural, taras plural
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Etymology
Borrowed from Irish Teamhrach, genitive of Teamhair, from Old Irish Temair (literally “high place”). The female given name is derived from the name of the plantation in Gone with the Wind, named for the place in Ireland.