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

  1. 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

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

via Armenian թան

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Armenianթանtan
2Middle Armenianթանtan
3Old Armenianթանsoup, broth
4Proto-Indo-Europeanteh₂-to melt; to flow, stream; Alternative form of...

via Middle English tan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishtanoak bark

Words derived from “tan”

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