Leath"er (le&thlig;"ər), n. [OE. lether, AS. leðer; akin to D. leder, leer, G. leder, OHG. ledar, Icel. leðr, 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]
⇒ 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.
© Webster 1913
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.
© Webster 1913