tannin

[tan-in]

noun

Chemistry. any of a group of astringent vegetable principles or compounds, chiefly complex glucosides of catechol and pyrogallol, as the reddish compound that gives the tanning properties to oak bark or the whitish compound that occurs in large quantities in nutgalls (common tannin, tannic acid).

any of these compounds occurring in wine and imparting an astringent taste, especially in red wine.

Origin of tannin

1795–1805; earlier tanin < F. See tan¹, -in²

Related formsnon·tan·nin, noun

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

Examples from the Web for tannin

Contemporary Examples of tannin

Spanish oak, which has an open grain and high levels of tannin, gives you dried fruit, spice, and even chocolate flavors.
How Much Do Whisky Casks Really Affect Taste?
December 10, 2014
Sorry, tannin fans: “In contrast to results for coffee, no effect was observed for drinking tea,” the authors avow.
Can Coffee Save Your Life?
Anneli Rufus
October 28, 2011
And yet, late last week, Cioffi and Tannin were found not guilty of all charges.
Wall Street Will Walk
Charlie Gasparino
November 16, 2009
To be sure, the case against Cioffi and Tannin, such as it is, has some noteworthy elements.
Prosecutors Fumble Wall Street Probes
Charlie Gasparino
September 17, 2009
Cioffi and Tannin have both pleaded not guilty, so presumably they will also argue they did nothing wrong.
Who's Going Down?
Charlie Gasparino
May 13, 2009

Historical Examples of tannin

Animal skins also, in any form, uncombined with tannin, may be worked into glue.
Cattle and Their Diseases
Robert Jennings
It is sold in the form of crushed leaves or as a powder (15-20% tannin).
Vegetable Dyes
Ethel M. Mairet
There is no deception about it: it tastes of tannin and spruce and creosote.
In the Wilderness
Charles Dudley Warner
The tannin unites with the gelatine; and thus the hide becomes leather.
Makers of Many Things
Eva March Tappan
It is lots of work to get the tannin out of oak or hemlock bark.
The Story of Leather
Sara Ware Bassett

British Dictionary definitions for tannin

tannin

noun

any of a class of yellowish or brownish solid compounds found in many plants and used as tanning agents, mordants, medical astringents, etc. Tannins are derivatives of gallic acid with the approximate formula C 76 H 52 O 46Also called: tannic acid

Word Origin for tannin

C19: from French tanin, from tan 1

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

Word Origin and History for tannin

vegetable substance capable of converting animal hide to leather, 1802, from French tannin (1798), from tan "crushed oak bark containing tannin" (see tan (v.)). Tannic acid first recorded 1836, from French acide tannique, inroduced 1834 by Pelouze.

tannin in Science

tannin

[tăn′ĭn]

Any of various compounds, including tannic acid, that occur naturally in the bark and fruit of various plants, especially the nutgalls, certain oaks, and sumac. Tannins are polyphenols, and form yellowish to light brown amorphous masses that can be powdery, flaky, or spongy. They bind proteins and are used in dyeing, in tanning leather, in clarifying wine and beer, and as an astringent in medicine. Tannins also give color and flavor to black tea.

Any of various other substances that promote the tanning of leather, such as chromium salts.