[f. TAN v. + -ING1.] The action of the verb TAN; an instance of this.
1481. in Eng. Gilds (1870), 332. As in tannyng, coryyng, cuttyng, or sowyng.
c. 1515. Cocke Lorells B., 2. A tanner for euyll tannyng of lether.
1598. Florio, Adustione, a tanning in the sunne.
1794. Rigging & Seamanship, I. 85. The tanning of sails in the royal navy has been tried.
1863. Sir G. G. Scott, Glean. Westm. Abb. (ed. 2), 65. Witnessing the tanning of the rascals hide.
attrib. 172741. Chambers, Cycl., Tan, the bark of the oak, chopped, and ground, by a tanning-mill, into a coarse powder.