tan Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a browning of the skin resulting from exposure to the rays of the sun
sunburn; burn; suntan.
noun a light brown the color of topaz
topaz.
noun ratio of the opposite to the adjacent side of a right-angled triangle
tangent.
verb treat skins and hides with tannic acid so as to convert them into leather
verb get a tan, from wind or sun
bronze.
adjective satellite of a light yellowish-brown color

Chin.

F. tan, perhaps fr. Armor. tann an oak, oak bar; or of Teutonic origin; cf. G. tanne a fir, OHG. tanna a fir, oak, MHG. tan a forest. Cf. Tawny.

The bark of the oak, and some other trees, bruised and broken by a mill, for tanning hides; -- so called both before and after it has been used. Called also tan bark.
A yellowish-brown color, like that of tan.
A brown color imparted to the skin by exposure to the sun; as, hands covered with tan.

F. tanner, LL. tannare. See Tan, n.

imperfect & past participle Tanned ; present participle & verbal noun Tanning

To convert (the skin of an animal) into leather, as by usual process of steeping it in an infusion of oak or some other bark, whereby it is impregnated with tannin, or tannic acid (which exists in several species of bark), and is thus rendered firm, durable, and in some degree impervious to water. ✍ The essential result in tanning is due to the fact that the tannins form, with gelatins and albuminoids, a series of insoluble compounds which constitute leather. Similar results may be produced by the use of other reagents in place of tannin, as alum, and some acids or chlorides, which are employed in certain processes of tanning.
To make brown; to imbrown, as by exposure to the rays of the sun; as, to tan the skin.