Tan

tan, n. bark of the oak, ., bruised and broken for tanning: a yellowish-brown colour.— v.t. to convert skins and hides into leather by steeping in vegetable solutions containing tannin: to make brown or tawny: to take the freshne from: ( coll. ) to beat.— v.i. to become tanned:— pr.p. tan′ning; pa.t. and pa.p. tanned.— n.pl. Tan′-balls , the spent bark of the tanner's yard pre ed into lumps, which harden on drying, and serve for fuel.— n. Tan′-bed ( hort. ), a bark-bed.— adj. Tan′-col′oured , of the colour of tan.— ns. Tan′ling ( Shak. ), one tanned or scorched by the heat of the sun; Tan′-liq′uor , -ooze , an aqueous extract of tan-bark.— adj. Tan′nable .— ns. Tan′nage , act of tanning: browning from exposure to the sun: the act of steeping cast slabs of artificial marble in a solution of potash alum to harden it and make it insoluble; Tan′ner , one who tans; Tan′nery , a place for tanning; Tan′ning , the art of tanning or converting into leather; Tan′-pit , -vat , a vat in which hides are steeped in liquor with tan; Tan′-yard , a yard or enclosure where leather is tanned. [A.S. tannian ; cf. Dut. tanen , or prob. O. Fr. tan —Bret. tann , an oak. If the latter, then Old High Ger. tanna (Ger. tanne ), fir, oak, is borrowed.]