I. ˈtan, -aa(ə)n verb
( tanned ; tanned ; tanning ; tans )
Etymology: Middle English tannen, from Middle French tanner, from Medieval Latin tannare, from tannum, tanum tanbark, probably of Celtic origin; akin to Irish tana thin, Cornish tanow
transitive verb
1.
a.
(1) : to convert (skin) into leather by impregnation with an infusion of tree bark, mineral salts, or some other form of tannin or a substitute
(2) : to convert (collagen or other protein) to leather or a similar product
b. : to apply a mixture (as of oak bark and coloring matter) to (as a sail) for preservative or hardening purposes
2. : to make tan or brown (as by exposure to the rays of the sun)
tan the skin
3. : to thrash soundly : beat , whip
would have tanned my hide if they had caught me rambling around — Louis Armstrong
4. : to make (the gelatin layer of a photographic material) selectively insoluble in water by chemical treatment or by the action of light
intransitive verb
: to get or become tanned
a man's skin tans more deeply — J.F.Stanwell-Fletcher
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: French, from Old French, from Medieval Latin tanum
1. : tanbark 1
2.
a. : a tanning material
b. : the active tanning agent (as tannin) in such a material
3. : a brown color imparted to the skin by exposure to the sun or weather
hands covered with tan
4.
a. : a variable color averaging a light yellowish brown that is redder, lighter, and stronger than khaki, deeper and slightly yellower than walnut brown, and yellower and slightly paler than cinnamon
b. : leather 4
5. tans plural : tan-colored articles of clothing ; especially : shoes
school superintendents were freshening their tans … and looking up timetables — Newsweek
III. adjective
( sometimes tanner sometimes tannest )
1. : of, relating to, or used for tan or tanning
2. : of the color tan
IV. ˈdän noun
( plural tan )
Etymology: Chinese (Pekingese) tan 1
: a Chinese unit of weight : picul
V. ˈtän noun
( plural tan )
Etymology: Japanese
: a Japanese unit of land area equal to 1/4 acre
VI. ˈdän noun
( plural tan or tans )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: short for tanka
: one of a boat-dwelling people distantly related to the Li whose boats form compact colonies in the river especially at Canton and Foochow, China — called also Tanka
VII. abbreviation
: tangent