Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Tarpaulin \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.

Source : WordNet®

tarpaulin
     n : waterproofed canvas [syn: {tarp}]