tan English · revision 10473

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1000|origins=la-med tannare}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tæn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English tannen, from late Old English tannian, implied in getanned,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Medieval Latin tannāre, to tan, dye a tawny colour (about 900),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from tannum, crushed oak bark used in tanning,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) probably from a Celtic source, such as Breton tann, oak tree;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) it was reinforced in Middle English by Old French tanner.^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To make hides into leather: about 1000, in Ælfric's glossaries, as the participle getanned.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To make the skin brown by exposure to the sun is first recorded in 1530, in Palsgrave.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''To tan someone's hide'', to thrash, is from the 1660s.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The noun, crushed oak bark, is from 1604 (about 1600),^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) earlier in tannedust (1392).^(Barnhart 1988) The brown colour of tanned skin is from 1749,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) in allusion to the colour of tanned leather,^(Barnhart 1988) and the adjective, yellowish-brown, from 1630.^(Barnhart 1988) ''Tanner'' and ''tannery'' are early: tanner is Old English, tannery 15th century.^(Hoad 1986) German Tanne, fir tree, may come from the same Celtic source.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – to tan hides.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530 – to brown in the sun.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1604 – tanbark (noun).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1630 – yellowish-brown (adjective).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1660s – to thrash.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1749 – a suntan.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make or become brown by exposure to the sun.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To convert hide into leather, as by treating with tannin.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(slang)'' To beat or thrash.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The brown colour the skin acquires from exposure to the sun; a [[suntan]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A light yellowish-brown colour.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Tanbark, or tannin.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of a light yellowish-brown colour.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tannish]]

+ * [[tannable]]

+ * [[suntan]]

+ * [[tanbark]]

+ * [[tanner]]

+ * [[tannery]]

+ * [[tannage]]

+ * [[retan]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tawny]]

+ * [[tannin]]

+ * [[tannic acid]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Tan is also an abbreviation of tangent in mathematics.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002) In Lancashire dialect a tan was a twig, from Old English tān.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}