Tar

(tahr.) [From A. S. tyr wa.] (Chem.) Adark-brown or black viscid liquid obtained in the destructive distillation of organic matters. There are three principal kinds of tar: wood tar, obtained in the manufacture of wood vinegar and wood spirit by the destructive distillation of wood; Stockholm tar, largely used in the arts, as in shipbuilding, ., which is obtained by a rude distillatio per descensum of the roots and other usele parts of the resinous pine; and coal tar, obtained during the destructive distillation of coal in the manufacture of coal-gas. The tars are extremely complex mixtures. [s. 878]