tan 1
— tannable , adj.
/tan/ , v. , tanned, tanning , n., adj., tanner, tannest .
v.t.
1. to convert (a hide) into leather, esp. by soaking or steeping in a bath prepared from tanbark or synthetically.
2. to make brown by exposure to ultraviolet rays, as of the sun.
3. Informal. to thrash; spank.
v.i.
4. to become tanned.
5. tan someone's hide , Informal. to beat someone soundly: She threatened to tan our hides if she found us on her property again.
n.
6. the brown color imparted to the skin by exposure to the sun or open air.
7. yellowish brown; light brown.
8. tanbark.
adj.
9. of the color of tan; yellowish-brown.
10. used in or relating to tanning processes, materials, etc.
[ bef. 1000; 1920-25 for def. 2; ME tannen to make hide into leather, late OE * tannian (in ptp. getanned; cf. TANNER 1 ) tannare, deriv. of tannum oak bark, tanbark tanna oak, fir, akin to D den fir ]
tan 2
/tan/ , n.
tangent (def. 5b).
[ by shortening ]
tan -1
Symbol, Trig.
arc tangent.