Tan

Part of speech: verb, noun, adjective

Pronunciation: /tæn/

Definitions

1. A brownish color to the skin resulting from sun exposure ; to treat animal skins chemically to produce durable leather ; a severe physical punishment or thrashing ; a shade of orange-yellow resembling a light brown
2. The process resulting in darker skin caused by sunlight ; the method of curing hides to make leather ; an intense beating or spanking ; a yellowish-brown color often used in art and fashion
3. Darkening of skin due to sun exposure ; chemical treatment applied to animal pelts to create leather ; a forceful beating given as punishment ; a pale orange-brown tone named as a color

Etymology: Before it described sunbathers, this term named a strip of oak bark. Tanners soaked hides in ground bark because its tannins transformed raw skin into durable leather, and the verb grew from that craft. Old French "tan" carried the bark sense into English from Medieval Latin, and its ultimate origin is uncertain, though it may be Celtic, perhaps related to Breton "tann," meaning red oak. The color came from the leather itself. Hides darkened to a yellowish brown during tanning, so a skin browned by the sun came to look like tanned leather. The same workshop association produced the punishment sense: "to tan someone's hide" meant to beat them, as if they were a pelt being worked over.

Synonyms: bronze, brown, suntan, darken, color

Antonyms: pale, white, blanch, lighten, fade