Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Tan \Tan\, n. [F. tan, perhaps fr. Armor. tann an oak, oak bar;
   or of Teutonic origin; cf. G. tanne a fir, OHG. tanna a fir,
   oak, MHG. tan a forest. Cf. {Tawny}.]
   1. The bark of the oak, and some other trees, bruised and
      broken by a mill, for tanning hides; -- so called both
      before and after it has been used. Called also {tan bark}.

   2. A yellowish-brown color, like that of tan.

   3. A brown color imparted to the skin by exposure to the sun;
      as, hands covered with tan.

   {Tan bed} (Hort.), a bed made of tan; a bark bed.

   {Tan pickle}, the liquor used in tanning leather.

   {Tan spud}, a spud used in stripping bark for tan from trees.
      

   {Tan stove}. See {Bark stove}, under {Bark}.

   {Tan vat}, a vat in which hides are steeped in liquor with
      tan.