tan

English · Español · Français · Deutsch · Tiếng Việt · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

tan^¹

/tæn/ US, UK
[tɛən]
/tan/ British, Northern England, Scotland
/tæːn/ Australia
[teːn]
/tɛn/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

From Middle English tan, from Old French tan (“tanbark”), from Gaulish *tannos (“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 tans

A light, brown-like colour.
A darkening of the skin resulting from exposure to sunlight or similar light sources. She still has a tan from her vacation in Mexico.
The bark of an oak or other tree from which tannic acid is obtained. Near-synonym: oakbark (contextually synonymous)
Similar: oakbark
Synonym of wall ball.
Similar: wall ball

adjective tanner · tannest

Yellowish-brown. a tan suit
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.
Similar: suntanned, tanned

tan^²

/tæn/ US, UK
[tɛən]
/tan/ British, Northern England, Scotland
/tæːn/ Australia
[teːn]
/tɛn/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

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

verb tans · tanning · tanned

intransitive, transitive 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.
transitive To change an animal hide into leather by soaking it in tannic acid.
stative, transitive To work as a tanner.
informal, transitive To spank or beat. "Well, go 'long and play; but mind you get back some time in a week, or I'll tan you."

tan^³

/tæn/ US, UK
[tɛən]
/tan/ British, Northern England, Scotland
/tæːn/ Australia
[teːn]
/tɛn/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

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

number

dialectal, rare The second cardinal number two, formerly used in Celtic areas, especially Cumbria and parts of Yorkshire, for counting sheep, and stitches in knitting.

tan^⁴

/tæn/ US, UK
[tɛən]
/tan/ British, Northern England, Scotland
/tæːn/ Australia
[teːn]
/tɛn/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Armenian թան (tʻan).

noun

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

tan^⁵

/tæn/ US, UK
[tɛən]
/tan/ British, Northern England, Scotland
/tæːn/ Australia
[teːn]
/tɛn/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Cantonese 擔／担 (daam3).

noun tans

uncountable, usually Synonym of picul, particularly in Cantonese contexts.
Similar: picul, particularly in Cantonese contexts

tan^⁶

/tæn/ US, UK
[tɛən]
/tan/ British, Northern England, Scotland
/tæːn/ Australia
[teːn]
/tɛn/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

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 tans

dialectal A twig or small switch.

tan^⁷

/tæn/ US, UK
[tɛən]
/tan/ British, Northern England, Scotland
/tæːn/ Australia
[teːn]
/tɛn/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

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 tans · tanning · tanned

Multicultural London English, slang, transitive 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

Tan^⁸

Where it comes from

From Mandarin 譚／谭 (Tán).

proper noun

A Chinese surname from Mandarin.

Tan^⁹

[t˭än] Malaysia, Singapore

Where it comes from

From Hokkien 陳 /陈 (Tân). Doublet of Chen and Tran.

proper noun

A Chinese surname from Hokkien.

Tan¹⁰

Where it comes from

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

proper noun

alternative Alternative form of Dan The Tae ping camps commanded the Tan river which, flowing eastward, becomes further on the Wei, under which name it joins the Grand Canal at Lin tsing, on the northern side of the highest level of the Canal waters.

Tan¹¹

proper noun

A surname from Vietnamese.

TAN¹²

noun

abbreviation, initialism Initialism of total acid number, the measure of a lubricant's or crude oil's acidity. See Total acid number on Wikipedia.
abbreviation, initialism Initialism of transaction authentication number, in electronic banking. See Transaction authentication number on Wikipedia.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: bronze, topaz, suntan, sunburn, burn, colored, chromatic, ecru, khaki, ochre, beige, bronzed, brown, tun, toasted, carbon

Translations

Every language

noun colour

Español	bronce, tostado
한국어	갈색 galsaek
中文	棕黄色 zōnghuángsè, 棕褐色 zōnghèsè
Português	pardo
Русский	све́тло-кори́чневый
Tiếng Việt	nâu tanin

noun darkening of the skin

Español	bronceado, tostado, moreno
日本語	日に焼ける hiniyakeru
中文	曬成褐色 /晒成褐色 shàichénghèsè, 曬黑 /晒黑 shàihēi
Português	bronzeado
Français	bronzage, hâle
Deutsch	Bräune, Sonnenbräune
Italiano	abbronzatura
Română	bronz, bronzare
Русский	зага́р zagár

noun bark of tree

Español	corteza de roble, corteza tánica
Français	tan
Italiano	corteccia

adj colour

Español	bronce, tostado
Deutsch	hellbraun, loh, lohfarben
Română	cafeniu
العربية	حِنْطِيّ ḥinṭiyy, قَمْحِيُّ اللَّوْن qamḥiyyu l-lawn

adj dark skin

Español	bronceado (por el sol), tostado, moreno, trigueño, atezado
한국어	탄 tan
Português	bronzeado
Français	hâlé, bronzé
Deutsch	braun, sonnengebräunt
Italiano	abbronzato
Română	bronzat
Русский	загоре́лый zagorélyj

verb to become tan due to exposure to sun

Español	broncearse
한국어	타다 tada, 그을다 geueulda
日本語	日焼けする hiyake-suru, 日に焼ける hiniyakeru
Português	bronzear
Français	bronzer
Deutsch	bräunen, in der Sonne baden
Italiano	abbronzarsi
Ελληνικά	μαυρίζω mavrízo
Română	se bronza
Русский	загора́ть zagorátʹ, загоре́ть zagorétʹ
العربية	اِسْمَرَّ ismarra

verb to turn animal hide into leather

Español	curtir
한국어	무두질하다 mudujilhada
日本語	なめす, 鞣す
中文	鞣制 róuzhì, 鞣 róu
Português	curtir
Français	tanner
Deutsch	gerben, walken
Italiano	conciare
Ελληνικά	αργάζω argázo
Română	tăbăci, argăsi
Русский	дуби́ть dubítʹ, вы́дубить výdubitʹ
Tiếng Việt	thuộc
العربية	دَبَغَ dabaḡa

noun Armenian drink

Русский	тан tan

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"tan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tan. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

tan. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tan

Chicago

"tan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tan.

BibTeX

@misc{tan_2026,
  title = {tan},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tan},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}

tan

AI In plain words

tan¹

Where it comes from

noun tans

adjective tanner · tannest

tan²

Where it comes from

verb tans · tanning · tanned

tan³

Where it comes from

number

tan⁴

Where it comes from

noun

tan⁵

Where it comes from

noun tans

tan⁶

Where it comes from

noun tans

tan⁷

Where it comes from

verb tans · tanning · tanned

Tan⁸

Where it comes from

proper noun

Tan⁹

Where it comes from

proper noun

Tan10

Where it comes from

proper noun

Tan11

proper noun

TAN12

noun

Thesaurus

Translations

noun colour

noun darkening of the skin

noun bark of tree

adj colour

adj dark skin

verb to become tan due to exposure to sun

verb to turn animal hide into leather

noun Armenian drink

tan^¹

tan^²

tan^³

tan^⁴

tan^⁵

tan^⁶

tan^⁷

Tan^⁸

Tan^⁹

Tan¹⁰

Tan¹¹

TAN¹²