\Tar*pau"lin\, n. [Tar + palling a covering, pall to
cover. See {Pall} a covering.]
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.

         To a landsman, these tarpaulins, as they were
         called, seemed a strange and half-savage race.
                                               --Macaulay.