English

Noun

Tans ‎(uncountable)

1. (Ireland, Britain) Abbreviated name for Black and Tans, the British irregular army group, operating against Irish republicans in the War of Independence 1920/21.

   1931 - Intuitively, on Bloody Sunday, the Tans recognized where their trouble lay: the Irish were playing their own game once again. - To Play the Game: An Analysis of Sport, John Bowyer Bell.

   1955 - Close quarter fighting did not suit them. It does not suit the Essex or the Tans. - Guerilla Days in Ireland General Tom Barry

   1995 - The Dawn contains two problems for its male protagonists: namely, Ireland's fight against the British forces, the RIC, and the Tans, and the patriotic commitment of the Malone family's sons. Screening Ireland: Film and Television Representation, Lance Pettitt

Anagrams

• ants
• Stan

English

Noun

tans

1. plural of tan

Verb

tans

1. third-person singular simple present indicative form of tan

Anagrams

• ants, Stan

Old French

Etymology

Latin tempus

Noun

tans m ‎(oblique plural tans, nominative singular tans, nominative plural tans)

1. time
   • circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:

     Le soper, quant tans fu et ore

     Supper, when it was time

Derived terms

• lonc tans

Descendants

• French: temps