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".
Tau Tau Tau (uppercase Τ, lowercase τ; ) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 300. The name in English is pronounced or , but in modern Greek it is . This is because the pronunciation of the combination of Greek letters αυ has changed from ancient to modern times from one of to either or , depending on what follows (see Greek orthography). Tau was derived from the Phoenician letter taw (𐤕). Letters that arose from tau include Roman T and Cyrillic Te (Т, т). The letter occupies