Leathering

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The procedure that involves processing animal skins into a robust and lasting fabric suitable for garments and other products
2. The technique used to convert animal hides into a strong and versatile material for fashion and utility items
3. The method of transforming animal hides into a durable and multifunctional material for clothing and various accessories involves several processing steps

Etymology: "Leathering" is simply the present participle and gerund of "leather" in the sense of working or tanning hides, so its story is really the story of the base word. The noun "leather" comes from Old English "leþer", which passed through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic as "leþrą" before reaching English. Its ancestry may reach back to a Proto-Celtic form, "letros", and ultimately to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "skin" or "hide", though this link is uncertain. The word is widely shared across the Germanic languages. German has "Leder", Dutch has "leder" and "leer", Swedish has "läder", Danish has "læder", and Icelandic has "leður", all meaning leather. English also has a related word, "fell", meaning a skin, hide or pelt, which shows how closely the idea of stripped animal covering was tied to the material itself.

Synonyms: tanning, curing, treatment, dressing, finishing