Waterskin

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A portable bag or pouch, typically made of leather or plastic, designed to hold and carry drinking water
2. A flexible vessel constructed from material like leather or fabric used to transport and store water for drinking
3. A lightweight container fashioned to hold water, commonly carried by travelers or used in outdoor activities

Etymology: A waterskin is about as literal as compounds get: a vessel made from an animal's skin, used to carry water. The "water" half is the easy part, but the "skin" half is the one that matters, since for most of human history a sewn animal hide was the most practical container a traveller could carry across dry country. Goatskin and sheepskin bags, often sealed with pitch to stop leaking, were standard equipment for desert journeys and military campaigns long before anyone thought of making a flask out of metal or glass. The word is simply the two parts joined together, with no borrowing from another language and no change in meaning. "Skin" in this sense has long referred to a bag or container made from hide, as in the older "wineskin" and "bellows" traditions, so the compound describes exactly what the object is. Its plainness is itself the story: English speakers needed a name for a thing made of skin that held water, and they built one from the materials they had.

Synonyms: water bottle, canteen, flask