tan¹

[tan] /tæn/

verb (used with object), tanned, tanning.

to convert (a hide) into leather, especially by soaking or steeping in a bath prepared from tanbark or synthetically.

to make brown by exposure to ultraviolet rays, as of the sun.

Informal. to thrash; spank.

verb (used without object), tanned, tanning.

to become tanned.

noun

the brown color imparted to the skin by exposure to the sun or open air.

yellowish brown; light brown.

tanbark.

adjective, tanner, tannest.

of the color of tan; yellowish-brown.

used in or relating to tanning processes, materials, etc.

Idioms

10.

tan someone's hide, Informal. to beat someone soundly:

She threatened to tan our hides if she found us on her property again.

Origin

before 1000; 1920-25 for def 2; Middle English tannen to make hide into leather, late Old English *tannian (in past participle getanned; cf. tanner¹) < Medieval Latin tannāre, derivative of tannum oak bark, tanbark < Germanic; compare Old High German tanna oak, fir, akin to Dutch den fir

Related forms

tannable, adjective

untanned, adjective

well-tanned, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for tan someone's hide

tan¹

/tæn/

noun

the brown colour produced by the skin after intensive exposure to ultraviolet rays, esp those of the sun

a light or moderate yellowish-brown colour

short for tanbark

verb tans, tanning, tanned

to go brown or cause to go brown after exposure to ultraviolet rays: she tans easily

to convert (a skin or hide) into leather by treating it with a tanning agent, such as vegetable tannins, chromium salts, fish oils, or formaldehyde

(transitive) (slang) to beat or flog

adjective tanner, tannest

of the colour tan: tan gloves

used in or relating to tanning

Derived Forms

tannable, adjective
tannish, adjective

Word Origin

Old English tannian (unattested as infinitive, attested as getanned, past participle), from Medieval Latin tannāre, from tannum tanbark, perhaps of Celtic origin; compare Irish tana thin

tan²

/tæn/

abbreviation

tangent (sense 2)

Word Origin and History for tan someone's hide

tan

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 (e.g. Breton tann "oak tree"). The meaning "make brown by exposure to the sun" first recorded 1520s. To tan (someone's) hide in the figurative sense is from 1660s. Related: Tanned; tanning.

"bronze color imparted to skin by exposure to sun," 1749, see tan (v.). As a simple name for a brownish color, in any context, it is recorded from 1888. The adjective tan "of the color of tanned leather" is recorded from 1660s.

tan someone's hide in Science

tan
Abbreviation of tangent

Slang definitions & phrases for tan someone's hide

tan someone's hide

v,v phr

To beat someone severely; thrash: Fetch me my gin, son, 'fore I tan your hide

Related Terms

black and tan

[1670+; fr the making of a hide into leather by tanning]

Related Abbreviations for tan someone's hide

tan

tangent

TAN

teeny area network

Idioms and Phrases with tan someone's hide

tan someone's hide

Also, have someone's hide. Spank or beat someone, as in Dad said he'd tan Billy's hide if he caught him smoking, or I'll have your hide if you take something without paying for it. This term uses hide in the sense of “skin.” The allusion in the first expression is to a spanking that will change one's skin just as chemicals tan animal hide (convert it into leather). [ Second half of 1600s ]