Leather Is Skin That Has Been Stopped From Rotting
Leather is animal hide treated so it will not decay. Tanning is the process, and it is one of the oldest crafts there is.
Leather is animal skin preserved by tanning. Untreated hide dries hard and then rots; tanning binds the collagen fibres so the material stays flexible and lasts for decades. Vegetable tanning uses tree bark and takes weeks; chrome tanning uses mineral salts and takes a day.
- Treated animal hide. *A leather jacket.*
- Leather as a modifier. *Leather seats.*
- Hell for leather — at top speed. *He rode hell for leather.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | leather | Soft leather. |
| Adjective | leather | A leather belt. |
| Adjective | leathery | Leathery skin. |
| Person | tanner | The village tanner. |
| Related | suede | A suede shoe. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The bag is full-grain leather.The top layer, with the grain intact.
- Suede is leather with the surface buffed.Softer, and easier to stain.
- They set off hell for leather.An old phrase about hard riding.
Grades and kinds
- Full-grain — the whole outer layer, most durable
- Top-grain — sanded to remove marks, thinner
- Split — the lower layers, weaker
- Suede — split leather with a napped surface
- Bonded leather — scraps glued together, the lowest grade
From Old English *lether*, with relatives across the Germanic languages. *Tan* comes from a word for oak bark, the traditional source of the tannins that do the work.
What is the difference between hide and leather?
A hide is the raw skin. It becomes leather only after tanning.
Is suede a different animal?
No. Suede is leather with the inner surface brushed to raise a nap, so it is softer and less water-resistant.