Tattoo is a loanword from the Samoan word "tatau", meaning "to strike". The "Oxford English Dictionary" gives the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. From Polynesian (Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, etc.) tatau. In Marquesan, tatu." Before the importation of the Polynesian word, the practice of tattooing had been described in the West as painting, scarring or staining. The etymology of the body modification term is not to be confused with the origins of the word for the military drumbeat or performance — see "military tattoo". In this case, the English word "tattoo" is derived from the Dutch word "taptoe".
Tahitian Dog outsiders to observe and record their existence, and they were served to early explorers including Captain James Cook. The Tahitian Dog disappeared as a distinct breed after the introduction of foreign European dogs. The Tahitian Dog, known as the ʻŪrī Mā’ohi in the Tahitian language, was introduced to Tahiti and the Society Islands (in modern French Polynesia) by the ancestors of the Tahitian (Mā’ohi) people during their migrations to Polynesia. They were closely related to the Hawaiian Poi Dog and the New Zealand kurī; the latter is believed to be a descendant of the breed. Similar breeds of Polynesian dogs