# tan

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈtæn/ · frequency rank #7,068

## Definitions
1. A light, brown-like colour.
2. A darkening of the skin resulting from exposure to sunlight or similar light sources.
3. The bark of an oak or other tree from which tannic acid is obtained.

## Etymology
From Middle English tan, from Old French tan (“tanbark”), from Gaulish *tannos (“green oak”) – compare Breton tann (“red oak”), Old Cornish tannen –, from Proto-Celtic *tannos (“green oak”), of uncertain origin, but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *(s)dʰonu (“fir”). Per this hypothesis, related to Hittite [script needed] (tanau, “fir”), Latin femur, genitive feminis (“thigh”), German Tann (“woods”), Tanne (“fir”), Albanian thanë (“cranberry bush”), Ancient Greek θάμνος (thámnos, “thicket”), Avestan 𐬚𐬀𐬥𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆 (θanuuar^ə), Sanskrit धनु (dhánu).

## Easily confused with
- **to** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-to)
- **TV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-tv)
- **te** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-te)
- **TL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-tl)
- **TX** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-tx)
- **TD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-td)
- **ti** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-ti)
- **Tu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-tu)
- **Ty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-ty)
- **TB** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-tb)
- **TN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-tn)
- **TS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-ts)
- **TM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-tm)
- **TT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-tt)
- **TF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-tf)
- **TC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-tc)
- **TJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-tj)
- **tp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-tp)
- **TG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-tg)
- **TK** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tan-vs-tk)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tan