tan

[ tan ]

/ tæn /

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verb (used with object), tanned, tan·ning.

to convert (a hide) into leather, especially by soaking or steeping in a bath prepared from tanbark or synthetically.

to make brown by exposure to ultraviolet rays, as of the sun.

Informal. to thrash; spank.

verb (used without object), tanned, tan·ning.

to become tanned.

noun

the brown color imparted to the skin by exposure to the sun or open air.

yellowish brown; light brown.

tanbark.

adjective, tan·ner, tan·nest.

of the color of tan; yellowish-brown.

used in or relating to tanning processes, materials, etc.

Nearby words

tampion, tampon, tamponade, tampur, tamworth, tan, tan oak, tan rot, tan someone's hide, tan-tung, tana

Idioms

tan someone's hide, Informal. to beat someone soundly: She threatened to tan our hides if she found us on her property again.

Origin of tan

before 1000; 1920–25 for def 2; Middle English tannen to make hide into leather, late Old English *tannian (in past participle getanned; cf. tanner¹) < Medieval Latin tannāre, derivative of tannum oak bark, tanbark < Germanic; compare Old High German tanna oak, fir, akin to Dutch den fir

Related forms

tan·na·ble, adjectiveun·tanned, adjectivewell-tanned, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for tan someone's hide (1 of 2)

tan

/ (tæn) /

noun

the brown colour produced by the skin after intensive exposure to ultraviolet rays, esp those of the sun

a light or moderate yellowish-brown colour

short for tanbark

verb tans, tanning or tanned

to go brown or cause to go brown after exposure to ultraviolet raysshe tans easily

to convert (a skin or hide) into leather by treating it with a tanning agent, such as vegetable tannins, chromium salts, fish oils, or formaldehyde

(tr) slang to beat or flog

adjective tanner or tannest

of the colour tantan gloves

used in or relating to tanning

Derived Forms

tannable, adjectivetannish, adjective

Word Origin for tan

Old English tannian (unattested as infinitive, attested as getanned, past participle), from Medieval Latin tannāre, from tannum tanbark, perhaps of Celtic origin; compare Irish tana thin

British Dictionary definitions for tan someone's hide (2 of 2)

tan

/ (tæn) /

abbreviation for

tangent (sense 2)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Science definitions for tan someone's hide

tan

Abbreviation of tangent

Idioms and Phrases with tan someone's hide

tan someone's hide

Also, have someone's hide. Spank or beat someone, as in Dad said he'd tan Billy's hide if he caught him smoking, or I'll have your hide if you take something without paying for it. This term uses hide in the sense of “skin.” The allusion in the first expression is to a spanking that will change one's skin just as chemicals tan animal hide (convert it into leather). [Second half of 1600s]