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tan

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "tan"
Languages (41)
Translingual • English
Ainu • Breton • Catalan • Chuukese • Cornish • French • Fula • Galician • Haitian Creole • Hungarian • Iban • Japanese • Javanese • Jingpho • Mandarin • Middle English • Middle Irish • Mizo • Old English • Old French • Old Irish • Old Javanese • Old Occitan • Old Swedish • Pipil • Polish • Somali • Sora • Spanish • Sranan Tongo • Swedish • Turkish • Vietnamese • Welsh • Wolof • Yámana • Yogad • Yola • Zay
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Translingual

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Symbol

tan

  1. (trigonometry) The trigonometric function tangent.

Usage notes

The symbol tan is prescribed by the ISO 80000-2:2019 standard. The symbol tg, traditionally preferred in Eastern Europe and Russia, is explicitly deprecated by ISO 80000-2:2019.

Alternative forms

Symbol

tan

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Tangale.

See also

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English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

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 (θanuuarə), Sanskrit धनु (dhánu).

Noun

tan (plural tans)

  1. A light, brown-like colour.
    tan:  
  2. A darkening of the skin resulting from exposure to sunlight or similar light sources.
    She still has a tan from her vacation in Mexico.
    I'm hoping to get a tan this weekend at the beach.
  3. The bark of an oak or other tree from which tannic acid is obtained.
    • 1848, John Hannett, Bibliopegia, or, The Art of Bookbinding in all its branches, page 65:
      In two pints of water boil one ounce of tan, and a like portion of nutgall till reduced to a pint.
Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Adjective

tan (comparative tanner, superlative tannest)

  1. Yellowish-brown.
    Mine is the white car parked next to the tan pickup truck.
  2. Having dark skin as a result of exposure to the sun or an artificial process intended to mimic this effect.
    Synonyms: suntanned, tanned
    You’re looking very tan this week.
Derived terms
Translations
colour

Etymology 2

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

Verb

tan (third-person singular simple present tans, present participle tanning, simple past and past participle tanned)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) To change to a tan colour due to exposure to the sun.
    No matter how long I stay out in the sun, I never tan, though I do burn.
  2. (transitive) To change an animal hide into leather by soaking it in tannic acid.
  3. (transitive, stative) To work as a tanner.
  4. (transitive, informal) To spank or beat.
    • 1876, Mark Twain, chapter 3, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer:
      "Well, go 'long and play; but mind you get back some time in a week, or I'll tan you."
Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
See also

Etymology 3

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

Numeral

tan

  1. (dialect, rare) The second cardinal number two, formerly used in Celtic areas, especially Cumbria and parts of Yorkshire, for counting sheep, and stitches in knitting.

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Armenian թան (tʻan).

Noun

tan

  2. An Armenian drink made of yoghurt and water similar to airan and doogh
Translations

Etymology 5

Borrowed from Cantonese 擔／担 (daam3).

Noun

tan (usually uncountable, plural tans)

  1. Synonym of picul, particularly in Cantonese contexts.

Etymology 6

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

Noun

tan (plural tans)

  2. (dialectal) A twig or small switch.

Etymology 7

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”).

Verb

tan (third-person singular simple present tans, present participle tanning, simple past and past participle tanned)

  1. (transitive, MLE, slang) To kill by gun, to shoot.
    • 2019 September 29, Moscow17, “All For The Cause”‎:
      Step on the wing, see an opp and I'll whack it
      Do it like Super Savage
      Who's the yute I Jet-Li-rise that dots and tan him (whoosh)
      Rise that dots and tan him

See also

Anagrams

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Ainu

Alternative forms

Etymology

From ta (“this”) +‎ an (“is”), literally “this being”.

Pronunciation

Determiner

tan (Kana spelling タン, plural tanokay)

  1. (demonstrative) this

Derived terms

  • tanpe (“this”)
  • tanto (“today”)

See also

More information pronoun, singular ...
The noun form is formed by adding pe, for objects (ex.: tanpe, "this thing"), or kur, for persons (ex.: tan kur, "this person").

Breton

Etymology

From Middle Breton tan, from Old Breton tan, from Proto-Brythonic *tan, from Proto-Celtic *teɸnets (“fire”) (compare Old Irish teine, Welsh tân).

Pronunciation

Noun

tan m (plural tanioù)

  1. fire

Mutation

More information unmutated, soft ...

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Breton.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

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Catalan

Pronunciation

Adverb

tan

  1. so, such
  2. (in comparisons, tan ... com) as ... as

Derived terms

  • tant (“so much, so many”)

Further reading

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Chuukese

Noun

tan

  1. dream

Cornish

Etymology

From Middle Cornish tan, from Old Cornish tan, from Proto-Brythonic *tan, from Proto-Celtic *teɸnets (“fire”) (compare Old Irish teine, Welsh tân).

Noun

tan m (plural tanow)

  1. fire

Derived terms

  • alarm tan (“fire alarm”)
  • gans tan (“alight, on fire”)
  • gorhel tan (“steamship”)
  • hwil tan (“moped”)
  • jynn tan (“fire engine”)
  • karr tan (“motor car”)
  • mesporth tan (“emergency exit, fire exit”)
  • skath tan (“motor boat”)
  • tan y'n golon (“enthusiasm”)
  • tanbren (“match, matchstick”)
  • tanek (“fiery”)
  • tanek y golon (“enthusiastic”)
  • tangasor, tangasores (“firefighter”)
  • tanlu (“fire brigade”)
  • tansys (“bonfire”)
  • tanweyth (“fireworks”)

Mutation

More information unmutated, soft ...

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Cornish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

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French

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle French tan, from Old French tan, from Latin tannum (“oak bark”), from Gaulish *tannos (“oak”), from Proto-Celtic *tannos (“green oak”).

Noun

tan m (plural tans)

  1. pulped oak bark used in the tanning process (i.e. of tanning leather)
Derived terms

Further reading

Etymology 2

Blend of ton +‎ ta.

Determiner

tan n (singular, plural tes)

  1. (gender-neutral, neologism) your
More information possessee, singular ...
1 Also used before feminine adjectives and nouns beginning with a vowel or mute h.
2 Also used as the polite singular form.
For the singular persons there are gender-neutral neologisms man, tan, san. These are extremely rare.
See also
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Fula

Alternative forms

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adjective

tan

  1. only

Usage notes

Adverb

tan

  1. only

Usage notes

References

  • M.O. Diodi, Dictionnaire bilingue fulfuldé-français, français-fulfuldé, Niger(?), 1994.
  • M. Niang, Pulaar-English English-Pulaar Standard Dictionary, New York: Hippocrene Books, 1997.
  • D. Osborn, D. Dwyer, and J. Donohoe, A Fulfulde (Maasina)-English-French Lexicon: A Root-Based Compilation Drawn from Extant Sources Followed by English-Fulfulde and French-Fulfulde Listings, East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1993.
  • F.W. de St. Croix and the Centre for the Study of Nigerian Languages, Bayero University, Fulfulde-English Dictionary, Kano: The Centre, 1998.
  • F.W. Taylor, Fulani-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 1932. (New York:Hippocrene Books, 2005)

Galician

Etymology

Inherited from Latin tam.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈtaŋ/ [ˈt̪ɑŋ]
  • Rhymes: -aŋ

Adverb

tan

  1. so, as (in comparisons)

Usage notes

  • Usually paired with como and coma, as tan […] como/coma

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French temps (“time, weather”).

Pronunciation

Noun

tan

  1. time
  2. weather

Hungarian

Etymology

Back-formation from tanít, tanul, etc. Created during the Hungarian language reform, which took place in the 18th–19th centuries.

Pronunciation

Noun

tan (plural tanok)

  1. doctrine, lore
  2. science of, theory, branch of instruction
  3. (as a suffix in compounds) -logy, -ology, -graphy (a branch of learning; a study of a particular subject)
    Synonym: tudomány
  4. (as a prefix in compounds) educational, academic
    Synonym: tanulmányi

Declension

More information singular, plural ...
More information possessor, single possession ...

Derived terms

Compound words with this term at the beginning
Compound words with this term at the end

Further reading

  • tan in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Iban

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *tahən, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqan (“to hold back”).

Pronunciation

Adjective

tan

  1. resistant (not easily damaged)
  2. perseverant
  3. undamaged
  4. invincible
  5. detained

Verb

tan

  1. to arrest; to detain
  2. to hold on someone
  3. to stop something/someone

Derived terms

Japanese

Romanization

tan

  1. Rōmaji transcription of たん

Javanese

Romanization

tan

  1. romanization of ꦠꦤ꧀

Jingpho

Etymology

Borrowed from Burmese တန်း (tan:).

Noun

tan

  1. class

References

  • Kurabe, Keita (31 December 2016), “Phonology of Burmese loanwords in Jinghpaw”, in Kyoto University Linguistic Research‎, volume 35, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 91–128

Mandarin

Romanization

tan

  1. nonstandard spelling of tān
  2. nonstandard spelling of tán
  3. nonstandard spelling of tǎn
  4. nonstandard spelling of tàn

Usage notes

  • Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French tan, ten and Medieval Latin tannum, tanium.

Pronunciation

Noun

tan (plural tannes)

  1. oak bark

Descendants

  • English: tan
  • Yola: tan

References

Middle Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish tan, from Proto-Celtic *tanā (“(point in) time”), from Proto-Indo-European *tn̥néh₂, from *ten- (“to stretch”).

Noun

tan f

  1. (point in) time

Derived terms

Descendants

Further reading

Mizo

Etymology

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *tan.

Verb

tan

  1. to chop
  2. to amputate
  3. to cross (an obstacle on the road)

Further reading

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *tain.

Pronunciation

Noun

tān m

  1. twig, branch

Declension

Strong a-stem:

More information singular, plural ...

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Middle English: *tan

Old French

Etymology

From Gaulish *tannos (attested in the place names Tannetum and Tannogilum), from Proto-Celtic *tannos (“green oak”).

Pronunciation

Noun

tan oblique singular, m (oblique plural tans, nominative singular tans, nominative plural tan)

  1. pulped oak bark used in the tanning process (i.e. of tanning leather)

Descendants

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *tanā (“(point in) time”), from Proto-Indo-European *tn̥néh₂, from *ten- (“to stretch”).

Pronunciation

Noun

tan f

  1. (point in) time

Declension

More information singular, dual ...
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
  • H = triggers aspiration
  • L = triggers lenition
  • N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

Descendants

Further reading

Old Javanese

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /tan/
  • Hyphenation: tan

Adverb

tan

  1. not

Adjective

tan

  1. not

Alternative forms

Derived terms

Descendants

Further reading

  • "tan" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

Old Occitan

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin tantus.

Adverb

tan

  1. such; so much; to such an extent

Adjective

tan

  1. such; so much

References

Old Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse tǫnn, from Proto-Germanic *tanþs.

Pronunciation

Noun

tan f

  1. tooth

Declension

More information singular, plural ...

Descendants

Pipil

Etymology

Compare Classical Nahuatl tlantli (“tooth, teeth”).

Noun

-tan (plural -tajtan)

  1. tooth
  2. (in the plural) dentition

Further reading

  • Campbell, L. (1985). The Pipil Language of El Salvador. Mouton De Gruyter.
  • Lara-Martínez, R., McCallister, R. Glosario cultural náwat pipil y nicarao.

Polish

Etymology

Back-formation from taniec.

Pronunciation

Noun

tan m inan

  1. (archaic, humorous, usually in the plural) dance
    Synonym: taniec

Declension

Declension of tan
More information singular, plural ...

Derived terms

verbs
  • iść w tany impf
  • pójść w tany pf
adjectives
nouns
verbs

Further reading

  • tan in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • tan in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Somali

Determiner

tan

  1. this (feminine)

Sora

Etymology

From Proto-Austroasiatic *taːɲ. Cognate with Santali teɲ, Khmer ត្បាញ (tbaañ), Arem taːɲ, Khasi tʰaːɲ

Pronunciation

Noun

tan

  1. to weave

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin tam.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈtan/ [ˈt̪ãn]
  • Rhymes: -an
  • Syllabification: tan

Adverb

tan

  1. so, as
    Eres tan rico como te sientes.
    You are as rich as you feel.
  2. very
    Lo único en lo que puedo pensar es en tu cara tan triste.
    All I can think about is your very sad face.

Usage notes

Usually paired with como: tan […] como (“as […] as”) or with que: tan […] que (“so […] that”).

Determiner

tan

  1. such, such a
    ¡Ese tipo es tan patán!
    That guy is such a jerk!

Derived terms

Further reading

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From English stand.

Verb

tan

  1. to stay, to reside
  2. to stay, to remain in a state

Swedish

Verb

tan

  1. (archaic or dialectal) second-person plural imperative of ta

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish طاڭ (taŋ), from Proto-Common Turkic *taŋ.

Noun

tan (definite accusative tanı, plural tanlar)

  1. dawn, twilight
    O gece tan yeri ağırana kadar selâmettir. ― On that night, there is peace till twilight.

Declension

More information singular, plural ...

Synonyms

Vietnamese

Etymology

    Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 散 (SV: tán, tản).

    Pronunciation

    Verb

    tan • (散, 㪚, 潵, 珊)

    1. to melt
    2. (in a liquid) to dissolve, dissipate
    3. (in certain expressions) to finish; to dismiss
      Chợ tan họp rồi.
      The market is closed.

    Derived terms

    Welsh

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

    From Middle Welsh tan, from Proto-Brythonic *tan, from Proto-Celtic *tanai, dative of *tanā, from Proto-Indo-European *tn̥néh₂.

    Pronunciation

    Preposition

    tan (triggers soft mutation on a following noun)

    1. until
    2. (literary) under
    3. while

    Usage notes

    In literary Welsh, tan can mean both "under" and "until". In Welsh usage today, however, dan (originally the soft mutation of tan) has become a preposition in its own right with the meaning "under" whereas tan means "until", retaining the meaning "under" in certain expressions, compound words and place names. Modern dan or tan are not usually mutated. o dan is an alternative to dan.

    Inflection

    More information singular, plural ...

    See also

    Mutation

    More information radical, soft ...

    Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
    All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

    References

    • R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “tan”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

    Wolof

    Noun

    tan (definite form tan mi)

    1. vulture

    Yámana

    Noun

    tan

    1. earth, soil, dust, ground

    Yogad

    Adverb

    tan

    1. more; -er

    Yola

    Etymology

    From Middle English tan, from Old French tan.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    tan

    1. Sandy land near the sea shore.

    References

    • Diarmaid Ó Muirithe (1990), “A Modern Glossary of the Dialect of Forth and Bargy”, in lrish University Review‎, volume 20, number 1, Edinburgh University Press, page 161

    Zay

    Etymology

    Cognate to Silt'e [script needed] (tan).

    Noun

    tan

    1. smoke (from a fire)

    References

    • Initial SLLE Survey of the Zway Area by Klaus Wedekind and Charlotte Wedekind

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