Etymology

leathern

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Today it means: Made of leather. Full definition →

Middle English letheren ← Old English liþren ← Proto-Germanic *liþrīnaz
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*liþrīnaz“of leather, leathern”
  2. Old English · inherited fromliþren
  3. Middle English · inherited fromletheren
  4. English todayleathern

From Middle English letheren, from Old English liþren, from Proto-Germanic *liþrīnaz (“of leather, leathern”), equivalent to leather + -en. Cognate with Scots letherin, lethrin, West Frisian learen, Dutch lederen, leren (“leathern”), German ledern (“leathern”).

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishletheren all →

lather

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.