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tan(5) (iou)



tan verb. [tan] Infl. -nn-. LOE.
[Prob. from medieval Latin tannare, perh. of Celtic origin; reinforced in Middle English from Old French tan(n)er.]
verb trans. Convert (skin, hide) into leather by soaking in a liquid containing tannic acid (orig. from bark) or other agents. LOE.
b. Treat (fishing nets, sails, etc.) with a preservative. E17.
verb trans. Make (the face, skin, etc.) brown by exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun or other source; suntan; gen. cause to turn brown. M16.
F. King She grinned revealing small, wicked teeth tanned with nicotine.
b. verb intrans. Become sunburnt or brown by exposure. M16.
R. Lowell The passengers were tanning On the Mediterranean in deck-chairs.
verb trans. Thrash, beat. Orig. & freq. in tan a person's hide s.v. HIDE noun1. M17.
E. Waugh Behave, or I'll tan yer arses for yer. J. I. M. Stewart University professors don't tan their daughters.
verb trans. Chiefly Photography. Harden chemically, esp. in a process involving light. L19.
tannable adjective able to be tanned L19.
tanning noun the action of the verb; an instance of this, a thrashing, a beating: L15.