Tan
/tæn/noun
A light brown color or a brownish skin color produced by sun exposure.
Did you know?The color word tan likely comes from the Germanic word for oak bark, the tannins used in tanning leather—so the word’s history is literally about turning raw hide into something preserved.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*denk-
“to bite, sting”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*tannjaną
“to tan, convert hide into leather”
Old English
English
tannian
“to tan leather”
Middle English
English
tan
“brownish color from tanning or sun exposure”
Modern English
English
tan
“a light brown color or a sun-induced brown color”