1. member of historical central Asian people: a member of a people who came from east central Asia and founded an empire stretching into Serbia, Russia, and Ukraine. The Tatars joined with the Mongols, and their combined empire flourished until the 16th century, when they were defeated by the Russians and the Ottoman Turks.
2. descendant of Tatars: a descendant of the Tatars. Most now live in an area of European Russia between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains, with communities in Crimea and Siberia.
3. Tatar language: the Turkic language of the Tatars. Native speakers: 6 million.
