Etymology

cuir bouilli

Today it means: Leather treated so as to become tough and rigid (and able to hold a moulded shape and decoration), used for artwork, carrying cases, and armor. Full definition →

Middle English quir-boili ← French cuir bouilli
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The story

  1. French · borrowed fromcuir bouilli
  2. Middle English · inherited fromquir-boili
  3. English todaycuir bouilli

In earlier uses, from Middle English quir-boili, cuirboille; in its modern form, borrowed from or respelling according to French cuir bouilli, from cuir (“leather”) + bouilli (“boiled”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.