The word itself resembles the sound the tattooing instrument makes when the ink is being put in the skin of those being tattooed and derives from the Polynesian word ta which means striking something.  The English word tattoo however was already mentioned before Cook's voyages to describe the beating of military drums.  Both words may have been rolled into one, with both having roots in Latin for something naming the action of striking or beating. Captain Cook brought a tattooed native called Omai with him, from his second voyage to the Pacific. After being shown on fairs and in British cities for some time Omai returned with Cook to his home country in 1776. The next tattooed person making news in Britain was a slave, deserted by his owner.