The word 'tattoo' entered the English language in the 18th century from Polynesian languages, notably Tahitian 'tatau' and Samoan 'tatau', which describe the act and result of marking the skin. Captain James Cook and his crew, who encountered the practice in Tahiti in 1769, were instrumental in introducing both the custom and its name to Europe. The Polynesian term itself is believed to be onomatopoeic, imitating the sound of the traditional tattooing tool tapping against the skin. The English suffix '-ed' is then appended according to standard grammatical rules, transforming it into a past-tense verb or a descriptive adjective indicating the state of being marked.

Structure: tattoo + ed - tattoo: A loanword from Polynesian languages (e.g., Tahitian 'tatau', Samoan 'tatau'), meaning 'to mark'. In English, it functions as the base noun/verb. - ed: A suffix from Old English '-ed', '-od', '-ad', used to form the past tense and past participle of regular verbs, or adjectives from nouns/verbs.