Etymology From Middle English tan, from Old French tan (“tanbark”), from Gaulish *tannos (“green oak”) – compare Breton tann (“red oak”), Old Cornish tannen –, from Proto-Celtic *tannos (“green oak”), of uncertain origin, but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *(s)dʰonu (“fir”). Per this hypothesis, related to Hittite [script needed] (tanau, “fir”), Latin femur, genitive feminis (“thigh”), German Tann (“woods”), Tanne (“fir”), Albanian thanë (“cranberry bush”), Ancient Greek θάμνος (thámnos, “thicket”), Avestan 𐬚𐬀𐬥𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆 (θanuuar^ə), Sanskrit धनु (dhánu).
1
A light, brown-like colour.
2
A darkening of the skin resulting from exposure to sunlight or similar light sources.
She still has a tan from her vacation in Mexico.
I'm hoping to get a tan this weekend at the beach.
3
The bark of an oak or other tree from which tannic acid is obtained.
In two pints of water boil one ounce of tan, and a like portion of nutgall till reduced to a pint.1848, John Hannett, Bibliopegia, or, The Art of Bookbinding in all its branches, page 65:
Etymology From Middle English tan, from Old French tan (“tanbark”), from Gaulish *tannos (“green oak”) – compare Breton tann (“red oak”), Old Cornish tannen –, from Proto-Celtic *tannos (“green oak”), of uncertain origin, but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *(s)dʰonu (“fir”). Per this hypothesis, related to Hittite [script needed] (tanau, “fir”), Latin femur, genitive feminis (“thigh”), German Tann (“woods”), Tanne (“fir”), Albanian thanë (“cranberry bush”), Ancient Greek θάμνος (thámnos, “thicket”), Avestan 𐬚𐬀𐬥𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆 (θanuuar^ə), Sanskrit धनु (dhánu).
1
Yellowish-brown.
a tan suit
Mine is the white car parked next to the tan pickup truck.
1 more example
The history of suits in politics is long and storied: from Obama’s “shocking” tan suit, now infamous enough to have its own Wikipedia page, […].2026 January 2, Jad Salfiti, “What Zohran Mamdani’s suit tells us about the man and the way society is changing”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
2
Having dark skin as a result of exposure to the sun or an artificial process intended to mimic this effect.
Etymology From a Brythonic language; influenced in form by yan (“one”) in the same series.
1
Dialectal, Rare The second cardinal number two, formerly used in Celtic areas, especially Cumbria and parts of Yorkshire, for counting sheep, and stitches in knitting.
tan
noun
Etymology Borrowed from Armenian թան (tʻan).
1
An Armenian drink made of yoghurt and water similar to airan and doogh
tan
verb
Etymology It may either be a figurative use of the usual verb tan (“to cause to acquire a brownish colour”) or a Jamaican Creole pronunciation of turn, compare bun (“to kill particularly by gunshot”).
Step on the wing, see an opp and I'll whack it Do it like Super Savage Who's the yute I Jet-Li-rise that dots and tan him (whoosh) Rise that dots and tan him2019 September 29, Moscow17, “All For The Cause”:
Usually Synonym of picul, particularly in Cantonese contexts.
tan
noun
Etymology From Middle English *tan, from Old English tān (“twig, shoot, switch”), from Proto-West Germanic *tain, from Proto-Germanic *tainaz (“rod, twig, straw, lot”).