Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Leather?

\Leath"er\, n. [OE. lether, AS. le?er; akin to D. leder, le[^e]r, G. leder, OHG. ledar, Icel. le?r, Sw. l["a]der, Dan. l[ae]der.] 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} (Zo["o]l.), a variety of carp in which the scales are all, or nearly all, absent. See Illust. under {Carp}. {Leather jacket}. (Zo["o]l.) (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}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Leatherback}. {Vegetable leather}. (a) An imitation of leather made of cotton waste. (b) Linen cloth coated with India rubber. --Ure.
\Leath"er\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Leathered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Leathering}.] To beat, as with a thong of leather. [Obs. or Colloq.] --G. Eliot.