LEATHER Leath"er, n. Etym: [OE. lether, AS. le; akin to D. leder, leêr, G. leder, OHG. ledar, Icel. le, Sw. läder, Dan. læder.]
1. The skin of an animal, or some part of such skin, tanned, tawed, or otherwise dressed for use; also, dressed hides, collectively.
2. The skin. [Ironical or Sportive]
Note: Leather is much used adjectively in the sense of made of, relating to, or like, leather. Leather board, an imitation of sole leather, made of leather scraps, rags, paper, etc. — Leather carp (Zoöl.) , a variety of carp in which the scales are all, or nearly all, absent. See Illust. under Carp. — Leather jacket. (Zoöl.) (a) A California carangoid fish (Oligoplites saurus). (b) A trigger fish (Balistes Carolinensis). — Leather flower (Bot.), a climbing plant (Clematis Viorna) of the Middle and Southern States having thick, leathery sepals of a purplish color. — Leather leaf (Bot.), a low shrub (Cassandra calyculata), growing in Northern swamps, and having evergreen, coriaceous, scurfy leaves. — Leather plant (Bot.), one or more New Zealand plants of the composite genus Celmisia, which have white or buff tomentose leaves. — Leather turtle. (Zoöl.) See Leatherback. — Vegetable leather. (a) An imitation of leather made of cotton waste. (b) Linen cloth coated with India rubber. Ure.
LEATHER
Leath"er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Leathered; p. pr. & vb. n. Leathering.]
Defn: To beat, as with a thong of leather. [Obs. or Colloq.] G.
Eliot.
LEATHERBACK
Leath"er*back`, n. (Zoöl.)
Defn: A large sea turtle (Sphargis coriacea), having no bony shell on its back. It is common in the warm and temperate parts of the Atlantic, and sometimes weighs over a thousand pounds; — called also leather turtle, leathery turtle, leather-backed tortoise, etc.
LEATHERET; LEATHERETTE
Leath"er*et, Leath`er*ette", n. Etym: [Leather + et, F. -ette.]
Defn: An imitation of leather, made of paper and cloth.