tan: [OE] Tan was borrowed into late Old English from the medieval Latin verb tannāre. This was derived from tannum ‘oak bark’ (oak bark is used in tanning leather), which itself was probably a loan-word from Gaulish tanno- ‘oak’. The French noun tan ‘tan’ came ultimately from the same Latin source. From it was derived tanin, acquired by English as tannin [19]; and its immediate Old French predecessor formed the basis of an adjective tané ‘tancoloured, dark’, whose Anglo-Norman version tauné gave English tawny [14]. => tannin, tawny
tan (v.)
late Old English tannian "to convert hide into leather" (by steeping it in tannin), from Medieval Latin tannare "tan, dye a tawny color" (c.900), from tannum "crushed oak bark," used in tanning leather, probably from a Celtic source (such as Breton tann "oak tree"). The meaning "make brown by exposure to the sun" (as tanning does to hides) first recorded 1520s; intransitive sense also from 1520s. Of persons, not considered an attractive feature until 20c.; in Shakespeare, "to deprive of the freshness and beauty of youth" (Sonnet CXV). As an adjective from 1620s. To tan (someone's) hide in the figurative sense is from 1660s. Related: Tanned; tanning. German Tanne "fir tree" (as in Tannenbaum) might be a transferred meaning from the same Celtic source.
tan (n.)
"bronze color imparted to skin by exposure to sun," 1749, see tan (v.). Earlier as "substance made of crushed bark used in making leather" (c. 1600). As a simple name for a brownish color, in any context, it is recorded from 1888. The adjective meaning "of the color of tanned leather" is recorded from 1660s. Tan-line attested from 1979.
双语例句
1. With almost evangelical fervour, Marks warns against deliberately seeking a tan.
几乎是凭着一股疯狂的热情，马克斯警告人们不要刻意追求晒成一身古铜色。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Leigh rolled over on her stomach to tan her back.
莉翻了个身趴下，开始晒后背。
来自柯林斯例句
3. She is tall and blonde, with a permanent tan.
她高个儿，一头金发，皮肤黝黑。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The tan-coloured dog looks suspiciously like an American pit bull terrier.
这只棕黄色的狗看上去非常像美国比特犬.
来自柯林斯例句
5. Build up your tan slowly and don't allow your skin to burn.
