Where does “tan” come from?
Tan comes from French tan, from Gaulish tanno-, from Latin tannum, from Proto-Indo-European teh₂-.
tan (English): A yellowish-brown colour; A darkening of the skin...
Definitions
- A yellowish-brown colour; A darkening of the skin...
Ancestry of “tan”, step by step
tan traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via French tan
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | tan | pulped oak bark used in the tanning process |
| 2 | French | ta | your |
| 3 | Old French | ta | your |
| 4 | Latin | tua | inflection of tuus: ## nominative/vocative... |
| 5 | Latin | tuus | your |
| 6 | Russian | туз | ace; bigwig; two-oar dinghy |
| 7 | Polish | tuz | ace; luminary, person of importance in their... |
| 8 | Polish | tu | here |
| 9 | Polish | być | to be |
| 10 | Polish | móc | to be able; may, might; to be allowed |
| 11 | Old Polish | móc | can, may, to be able to |
| 12 | Proto-Slavic | moťь | power |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | mógʰtis | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | meǵʰ- | to be able |
via Armenian թան
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Armenian | թան | tan |
| 2 | Middle Armenian | թան | tan |
| 3 | Old Armenian | թան | soup, broth |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | teh₂- | to melt; to flow, stream; Alternative form of... |
via Middle English tan
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | tan | oak bark |