Etymology

leather

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Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Middle English lether ← Old English leþer ← Proto-West Germanic *leþr
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leather · noun, adjective, verb1

  1. Proto-Celtic*letros
  2. Proto-Germanic*leþrą
  3. Proto-West Germanic*leþr
  4. Old Englishleþer
  5. Middle Englishlether
  6. English todayleather

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.

Leather · proper noun2

English surname, from the noun leather.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishlether all →

plonge leather

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.