释义 |
whitleathern.Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: white adj., leather n. Etymology: < white adj. + leather n., with shortening of the vowel in the first element (compare discussion at white adj.). Compare post-classical Latin corium album (c1149, c1450 in British sources).Earlier currency is implied by the surname of Daniel Whitlether (1298); compare also the following example, which may show either an earlier instance of the English word, or (more probably) an isolated borrowing of it into post-classical Latin:1366–7 in J. Raine Charters Priory Finchale (1837) p. lxxii Cum ferrura, cingulis, capestris, witleȝtr', scutels [etc.]. 1. society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > leather > [noun] > tanned leather > specific α. 1384 in F. Collins (1897) I. 82 (MED) Joh. Prychet, whit-lether-tewer. 1451 in T. Sharp (1825) 26 (MED) Payed for vj skynnys of whitleder to godds garment. 1487–8 in J. T. Fowler (1899) II. 417 Pro whitlether pro lez bawdrikez, 6d. 1580 T. Lupton (new ed.) 80 Truly me thinks a Whip of Whitleather were more meete for a Lyar, than a Whetstone of Siluer. 1623 tr. A. Favyn i. vi. 58 A large strong thong or strap of whit-leather. 1784 J. Twamley 40 I have seen one part of a Skin of a well-coloured sound nature, another Part that had somewhat the look of rough Parchment, or hard Whit-leather. 1854 1st Ser. 9 273/1 Gloves made of Whit-leather (untanned leather) and used by workmen in cutting and trimming fences. 1877 E. Peacock Whitleather, sheep's-skins, prepared for thongs of flails, repairing harness, &c. Formerly used for baldricks of church-bells. 1960 G. E. Evans xvii. 213 Sidney Austin, the harness-maker, still uses strips of whitleather to repair..the collars of farm-horses. 1997 D. Wallace iv. 122 A shoemaker, a tanner, a whittawer (dresser of whit-leather..), and the prior of Coventry. β. c1450 (1900) 256 Þe iustise, þe preest, schal clothe þe in whyȝt ledyr.1500 Louth Church Acct. in E. Peacock (1889) (at cited word) For j horskyn & di. skyn whiett ledd [er] xd.1519 in W. L. Nash (1851) 7 For a hide of white lether viijd.1556 Churchwardens' Accts. Minchinhampton in (1853) 35 423 For wyet lether, and makyng off bawryxes [= baldrics], xviij d.1609 N. Morgan xci. 275 Take a peece of white leather, somewhat biger then the impostumation, and spred it..as farre as will couer the swelling.1639 T. de Gray ii. xviii. 320 Take the shreds of white leather untanned.1797 VII. 739/2 A water-size..prepared by boiling cuttings of parchment or white leather in water.1885 A. Watt 39 When tawed, or prepared with alum and salt, they [sc. sheepskins] form what is termed white leather.1994 H. W. Crosby 425/1 Mezquitillo..a very small woody shrub whose bark is used in tanning so-called ‘white’ leather, usually from deerskin.the world > matter > constitution of matter > strength > [noun] > toughness > leathery toughness the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > [noun] > that which is soft > typically soft thing 1533 tr. Erasmus xiii. sig. I.viiv In hate as tough as whyte lether. 1622 T. Dekker & P. Massinger iv. sig. I2 The guts of my conscience beginne to be of whit-leather. 1697 J. Vanbrugh v. 96 Nurse. I'll soon bring his Nose to the Grind-stone. C[oupler] aside. Wellsaid old Whiteleather. a1713 T. Ellwood (1714) 321 My Sides are not of Iron, neither Are my Lungs made of Whit-leather. 1765 tr. A. Goudar IV. lxiv. 187 A small table was set before me, with a piece of cold roast beef, tough as whit-leather. 1830 G. P. R. James I. v. 115 Pray God to make all your bones as soft as whit-leather. 1839 C. M. Kirkland xxxiv. 225 Her eyes grew preternaturally pale, and her lips wan as whit-leather. 1913 D. H. Lawrence 44 A widow o forty-five As has sludged like a horse all her life, Till 'er's tough as whit-leather. 2009 C. Hudson vii. 83 For the midday meal..strips of jerked beef as hard as whit-leather. the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > [noun] > hoofed animal > parts of > tendon supporting head 1692 J. Ray (ed. 2) i. 150 Which Aponeurosis..is taken notice of by the Vulgar by the name of Fixfax, or Packwax, or Whit-leather. 1713 W. Derham vi. iii. 362 That..Ligament [Note], Called the Whitleather, Packwax, Taxwax, and Fixfax. 1834 7 404 During the time they are feeding, the neck is supported on each side by a strong and remarkably tough ligament, called whitleather. 1916 H. E. Jordan & J. S. Ferguson iii. 61 Elastic tissue is found in the..ligamentum nuchæ (‘whitleather’) of quadrupeds. Compounds1384Whit-lether-tewer [see sense 1aα. ]. a1486 in (1900) 57 68 They schall putte up on them..a reed cote of reed tartaryn and a white ledir girdill. 1573 T. Tusser (new ed.) f. 14v Hole brydle & saddle, whyt leather [1577 whit lether] nall. 1591 R. Greene sig. A2 A little white leather headstal and raines. ?a1600 f. 145 Thy gerdill made of the whittlether whange. 1696 No. 3217/4 A white Leather Side Saddle, and Hunting-Bit. 1755 Sept. 158/1 Thomas Tuckett and Joseph Tuckett of Piddletown in Dorsetshire, White Leather-Dressers and Woolstaplers. 1854 A. E. Baker II. 397 Whit-leather thongs. 2011 D. Frick in T. M. Safley vi. 429 Other guilds—hatmakers, glaziers..white-leather tanners, masons. 1616 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher v. sig. H4 Hast thou so much moysture in thy whitleather hyde yet, that thou can'st cry? 1879 J. Beatty 240 True, the pie had ‘strawberries in him’, but not enough to pay one for chewing the whit-leather crust. 1996 R. Isbell ii. 22 He has neither his father's talent nor his whitleather strength. Derivatives 1635 J. Gower sig. C3 Then from thy flesh I'le draw thy hide, And have it throughly tann'd, and dry'd Whit-lether-like. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1384 |