What does cowhide mean?
Cowhide refers to the natural hide of a cow, most commonly encountered in its tanned form as a durable, versatile leather. Because cattle hides are abundant by-products of the meat industry, cowhide is among the most widely used leathers in the world, appearing in furniture upholstery, rugs, belts, saddles, footwear, and work gloves. It is valued for its strength, thickness, and distinctive grain, and in its 'hair-on' form it retains the animal's patterned coat, making it popular for decorative rugs. The word also has an older American sense denoting a heavy whip made from such leather, familiar from accounts of the frontier era. In modern usage, cowhide carries connotations of ruggedness and practicality rather than luxury, distinguishing it from finer leathers such as calfskin.
The hide of a cow, especially when tanned and used as leather.
"The craftsman selected a heavy grade of cowhide for the saddle."
Common in commercial contexts describing leather goods.
(US) To flog with a cowhide whip.
"The drover threatened to cowhide any hand who let the herd stray."
Dated and chiefly historical American usage.
Used when referring to multiple individual hides or leather pieces; often uncountable when referring to the material generally.
"The trading post stacked fresh cowhides along the warehouse wall."
One cowhide can yield enough leather for roughly a dozen pairs of boots — which is why cowboys prized a good hide like currency on the trail.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cowhide
Cowhide is a straightforward English compound of 'cow', from Old English cū, and 'hide', from Old English hȳd, both of Germanic origin. It has been used since at least the early modern period to denote both the raw skin and the leather produced from it, and it later gave rise to the American verb sense of flogging with a cowhide whip.
How cowhide is actually used
Mostly used in commercial and craft contexts (furniture, leather goods); the whip sense is chiefly American and now dated or historical.
Easily confused with cowhide
Rawhide is untanned animal hide, whereas cowhide typically refers to tanned leather made from a cow's skin.