SG Heritage Dictionary

Tarpaulin [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. A piece of canvas well daubed with tar, and used to cover the hatchways of a ship to prevent rain or water from entering the hold.

2. A sailor; in contempt.

Tarpaulin [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

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.

Tarpaulin Encyclopedia Britannica

TARPAULIN is a waterproof sheeting consisting of a stout canvas cloth impregnated and coated with tar. It is employed for covering hatchways and other openings into the holds of vessels, for making covers for railway and other waggons and farm ricks, and generally for protecting bulky goods and structures from weather and damp. Many waterproof compositions other than tar are used for similar purposes, the principal ingredients being solutions of india-rubber, gutta-percha, and various resinous bodies combined with pigments. See Waterproofing.

9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 23, p. 66
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