leather
/ˈlɛðɚ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.35 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A tough material produced from the skin of animals, by tanning or similar process, used e.g. for clothing; often denotes leather from cattle when no qualifier specifies otherwise.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The goalee made a frantic grab as the leather spun clean past him, but he was just a second too late, and Joe had scored for Redcliff."
- "Jones showed good leather to snare that liner."
- "Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke.[…]A silver snaffle on a heavy leather watch guard which connected the pockets of his corduroy waistcoat, together with a huge gold stirrup in his Ascot tie, sufficiently proclaimed his tastes."
- "Some research has documented the phenomenon of leather families as a form of intentional, chosen families created by members of sexual and gender minority groups, often in the face of biological family rejection and marginalization in society (Bauer, 2010; Hammack et al., 2019; Murphy & Bjorngaard, 2019; Pitagora, 2016). Leather families are a network of people that acknowledge and practice ongoing supportive relationships “while sharing the commonalities of the leather and kink scene” (Bannon, 2016). […] Very few studies have examined how many people are members of leather or other “chosen” families."
- "He rose and leathered his Colt as his father came to stand beside him."
- "By the appearance of his deep suntan, which had leathered his skin, and the calluses that covered his hands, Sheriff Anderson figured the man to be one of the area ranchers."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Celtic *letrosbor. Proto-Germanic *leþrą Proto-West Germanic *leþr Old English leþer Middle English lether English leather From Middle English lether, from Old English leþer (“leather”), from Proto-West Germanic *leþr, from Proto-Germanic *leþrą (“leather”), possibly borrowed from Proto-Celtic *ɸlitrom, *letros, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥tro- (“skin, hide”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Leder (“leather”), West Frisian leare (“leather”), Low German Leder (“leather”), Dutch leder, leer (“leather”), German Leder (“leather”), Danish læder (“leather”), Swedish läder (“leather”), Icelandic leður (“leather”). Compare also English fell (“skin, hide, pelt”), film.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈlɛðɚ/
- British English: /ˈlɛðə/