Where does “suntan” come from?

Suntan comes from English sun and French tan, from Gaulish tanno-, Latin tannum, and Proto-Indo-European sent-, h₁es-, and sew-.

suntan (English): In humans a brown or darkened coloration of the...

Definitions

  1. In humans a brown or darkened coloration of the...

Ancestry of “suntan”, step by step

suntan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English tan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtanA yellowish-brown colour; A darkening of the skin...
2Frenchtanpulped oak bark used in the tanning process
3FrenchtonYour, thy; Tone; Tone, shade
4Old Frenchtonyour
5LatintonusThe stretching or straining of a rope; A strain;...
6Ancient Greekτόνοςrope, cord; chord; tone, note
7Proto-Hellenictónosrope, cord; tension
8Proto-Indo-Europeantónossomething stretched; chord, fiber, string
9Proto-Indo-Europeanten-to stretch, to extend

via English Sun

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishSunAbbreviation of Sunday
2Middle EnglishsunneAlternative form of sonne; sun
3Old Englishsunnesun
4Proto-West Germanicsunnāsun
5Proto-Germanicsunnǭthe sun
6Proto-Indo-Europeansh̥₂uénsun; the Sun
7Proto-Indo-Europeansóh₂wl̥sun

Words derived from “suntan”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ten- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European tónos →Every word from Proto-Hellenic tónos →