Tan
Pronunciation
- US IPA: /tæn/
Origin 1
From French tan ("tanbark"), from Gaulish tanno ("live oak") (compare Breton tann ("red oak"), Old Cornish tannen), from Proto-Indo-European *dÊ°onu ("fir") (compare Hittite (tanau, "fir"), Latin femur, genitive feminis ("thigh"), German Tann ("woods"), Tanne ("fir"), Albanian thanë ("cranberry bush"), Ancient Greek θάμνος (thamnos, "thicket"), Avestan (θanwarÉ™), geitive (θanwanÅ, "bow"), Sanskrit धनà¥à¤¸à¥, genitive (dhánvanus, "bow")). Verb from Middle English tannen, from late Old English tannian ("to tan a hide"), from Anglo-Norman tanner, from tan.
Full definition of tan
Noun
tan
(plural tans)- A yellowish-brown colour.
- A darkening of the skin resulting from exposure to sunlight or similar light sources.She still has a tan from her vacation in Mexico.
- The bark of an oak or other tree from which tannic acid is obtained.
- 1848, John Hannett, Bibliopegia, or, The Art of Bookbinding in all its branches, page 65:In two pints of water boil one ounce of tan, and a like portion of nutgall till reduced to a pint.
Derived terms
Adjective
tan
- Of a yellowish-brown.Mine is the white car parked next to the tan pickup truck.
- Having dark skin as a result of exposure to the sun.You’re looking very tan this week.
Verb
- (intransitive) To change to a tan colour due to exposure to the sun.No matter how long I stay out in the sun, I never tan. though I do burn.
- (transitive) To change an animal hide into leather by soaking it in tannic acid.See Tanning. To work as a tanner.
- (transitive, informal) To spank or beat.
- 1876, Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, ch. 3:"Well, go 'long and play; but mind you get back some time in a week, or I'll tan you."
Related terms
Origin 2
From a Brythonic language; influenced in form by yan ("one") in the same series.
Numeral
numeral
- (dialect, rare) The second cardinal number two, formerly used in Celtic areas, especially Cumbria and parts of Yorkshire, for counting sheep, and stitches in knitting.