leather
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈlɛðə/
ipa: /ˈlɛðɚ/
ipa: /ˈlʌðəɹ/
rhymes: -ɛðə(ɹ)
Forms: form: leathers
form: leathering
form: leathered
form: leathered
Etymology: 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-.
Cognate with West Frisian leare (“leather”), Low German Leder (“leather”), Dutch leder, leer (“leather”), German Leder (“leather”), Danish læder (“leather”), Swedish läder (“leather”), Icelandic leður (“leather”).
Senses: examples: text: He rose and leathered his Colt as his father came to stand beside him.
ref: 2015, Rain Trueax, Lands of Fire:
glosses: To cover with leather.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 2003, Bonita Wagner, Satan's Choice, page 66:
text: Some leather and droop like bat wings, others, as the poet Brenda Hillman writes, are 'hung in hashtags'.
ref: 2020, Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life, page 83:
glosses: To form a leathery surface (on).
examples: text: He leathered the ball all the way down the street.
glosses: To strike forcefully.
examples: text: My father was very angry with me— -he took and leathered ( beat) me, because I ran away from my school ; for I did run away from my school ; he took and tied me up on a Sunday morning, leathered me a Friday night, and Saturday night : I was stripped naked when he leathered me on Friday night, and Saturday; my father told me to strip myself, and he leathered me, it was with a whip; but I do not know where he got the whip; he tied me with my arms extended so -- (spreading out her arms to their extremity, as if they were to be nailed upon a cross) -- My legs were tied too -- I was at the bottom of the dresser.
ref: 1806, Andrew Kippis, The New Annual Register:
text: My father was furious with me and reached for the strap. He brutally leathered me with it before sending me to bed for the night.
ref: 2005, H. Salisbury, Betrayed, →ISBN, page 4:
text: Anyway, bums were always on view in our family, getting leathered with a heavy belt.
ref: 2011, Agnes Owens, Agnes Owens: The Complete Novellas, →ISBN:
glosses: To spank or beat with a leather belt or strap.
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: hell-for-leather
sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: leatherback
sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: leathercraft
sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: leatherette
sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: leatherhead
sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: leatherjacket
sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: leather jacket
sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: leather-lunged
sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: leathern
sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: leatherwork
sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: leathery
sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: slap leather
sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: spur-leather
sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: stirrup leather
sense: Terms derived from the adjective, noun, or verb leather
word: wash-leather