tan noun a temporary tent, hut or cabin, such as is set up by Tinkers or Gypsies: She had the liberty of tan and ken [house], of barn, tent and caravan… la19-20. etymology: origin obscure: only attested in the Dictionaries of the Scots Language in S R Crockett’s The Men of the Moss-Hags (1895) and Smugglers (1911) |