tan

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French tan (“tanbark”), from Gaulish tanno- (“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).

noun

1. A yellowish-brown colour.
   tan:
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

adj

1. Yellowish-brown.
   Mine is the white car parked next to the tan pickup truck.
2. Having dark skin as a result of exposure to the sun or an artificial process intended to mimic this effect.
   You’re looking very tan this week.

Etymology 2

As a verb, from Middle English tannen, from late Old English tannian (“to tan a hide”), from Latin tannare.

verb

1. (transitive, 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.
2. (transitive, stative) To change an animal hide into leather by soaking it in tannic acid. To work as a tanner.
3. (transitive, informal) To spank or beat.
   "Well, go 'long and play; but mind you get back some time in a week, or I'll tan you." 1876, Mark Twain, chapter 3, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Etymology 3

From a Brythonic language; influenced in form by yan (“one”) in the same series.

num

1. (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.

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Armenian թան (tʿan).

noun

1. An Armenian drink made of yoghurt and water similar to airan and doogh

Etymology 5

Borrowed from Cantonese 擔／担 (daam3).

noun

1. Synonym of picul, particularly in Cantonese contexts.

Etymology 6

From Middle English *tan, from Old English tān (“twig, shoot, switch”), from Proto-West Germanic *tain, from Proto-Germanic *tainaz (“rod, twig, straw, lot”).

noun

1. (dialectal) A twig or small switch.

Etymology 7

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”).

verb

1. (transitive, MLE, slang) To kill by gun, to shoot.
   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 him 2019-09-29, Moscow17 (lyrics and music), “All For The Cause”