• IPA: /tæn/

Borrowed from French tan, from Gaulish *tannos – compare Breton tann, oco tannen –, from Proto-Celtic *tannos, of uncertain origin, but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *dʰonu.

tan (plural tans)

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.

• Portuguese: pardo
• Russian: бежевый
• Spanish: bronce, tostado

• French: bronzage, hâle
• German: Bräune, Sonnenbräune
• Italian: abbronzatura
• Portuguese: bronzeado
• Russian: зага́р
• Spanish: bronceado, tostado, moreno

• French: tan
• Italian: corteccia
• Spanish: corteza de roble; corteza tánica

tan (comparative tanner, superlative tannest)

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.

   Synonyms: suntanned, tanned

   You’re looking very tan this week.

• German: hellbraun, loh, lohfarben
• Spanish: bronce, tostado

• French: hâlé, bronzé
• German: braun, sonnengebräunt
• Italian: abbronzato
• Russian: загоре́лый
• Spanish: bronceado, tostado, moreno, trigueño

As a verb, from Middle English tannen, from late Old English tannian, from Latin tannare.

tan (tans, present participle tanning; simple past and past participle tanned)

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.
   • 1876, Mark Twain, chapter 3, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer:

     "Well, go 'long and play; but mind you get back some time in a week, or I'll tan you."

• tawny
• tannin
• tannic acid

• French: bronzer
• Italian: abbronzarsi
• Portuguese: bronzear
• Russian: загора́ть
• Spanish: broncearse

• French: tanner
• German: gerben, walken
• Italian: conciare
• Portuguese: curtir
• Russian: дуби́ть
• Spanish: curtir

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

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.

Borrowed from Armenian թան.

tan

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

• Russian: тан

tan (uncountable)

1. Synonym of picul, particularly in Cantonese contexts.

From Middle English *tan, from Old English tān, from Proto-West Germanic *tain, from Proto-Germanic *tainaz.

tan (plural tans)

1. (dialectal) A twig or small switch.

• mistletoe

It may either be a figurative use of the usual verb tan (“to cause to acquire a brownish colour”) or a Jamaican Creole English - pronunciation of turn, compare bun.

tan (tans, present participle tanning; simple past and past participle tanned)

1. (transitive, MLE, slang) To kill by gun, to shoot.

From Mandarin - 譚.

1. Surname.

From nan-hbl 陳.

1. Surname.

From Mandarin - 丹, reinforced by Wade-Giles romanization: Tan¹.

1. Alternative form of Dan

1. Surname.

1. (engineering) Init of total acid number the measure of a lubricant's or crude oil's acidity. See Total acid number on Wikipedia.
2. (banking) Init of transaction authentication number in electronic banking. See Transaction authentication number on Wikipedia.