tan

tan · noun, adjective¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*(s)dʰonu“fir”
2. Proto-Celtic · derived from*tannos“green oak”
3. Gaulish · derived from*tannos“green oak”
4. Old French · derived fromtan“tanbark”
5. Middle English · inherited fromtan
6. English todaytan

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).

tan · verb²

1. Latin · derived fromtannare
2. Old English · inherited fromtannian“to tan a hide”
3. Middle English · inherited fromtannen
4. English todaytan

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

tan · numeral³

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

tan · noun⁴

1. Armenian · borrowed fromթան
2. Armenian · borrowed fromթան
3. English todaytan

Borrowed from Armenian թան (tʻan).

tan · noun⁵

Borrowed from Cantonese 擔／担 (daam3).

tan · noun⁶

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*tainaz“rod, twig, straw, lot”
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*tain
3. Old English · inherited fromtān“twig, shoot, switch”
4. Middle English · inherited from*tan
5. English todaytan

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

tan · verb⁷

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”).

Tan · proper noun⁸

From Mandarin 譚／谭 (Tán).

Tan · proper noun⁹

1. Hokkien · borrowed from陳 /陈
2. English todayTan

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

Tan · proper noun¹⁰

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

Words from the same roots