tarpaulin Meaning, Definition & Usage

Tar*pau"lin noun

Etymology

Tar + palling a covering, pall to cover. See Pall a covering.

Definitions

1. A piece of canvas covered with tar or a waterproof composition, used for covering the hatches of a ship, hammocks, boats, etc.
2. A hat made of, or covered with, painted or tarred cloth, worn by sailors and others.
3. Hence, a sailor; a seaman; a tar.

   To a landsman, these tarpaulins, as they were called, seemed a strange and half-savage race. Macaulay.