What does leathered mean?
Leathered is an adjective meaning covered with leather, made from leather, or wearing leather. It commonly describes clothing, furniture, bindings, and other objects whose surfaces are made or wrapped with hide, as in leathered seats or leathered gloves. The word can also indicate a surface that looks like leather. In older or literary usage, leathered can function as a past tense or past participle of the verb leather, meaning to cover something with leather or, formerly, to beat someone. As a verb form it is less common in modern English than the adjective. Compared with leathery, which describes a texture or resemblance, leathered normally points to an actual covering or layer of leather. The term is useful when the material itself is the important feature of the object or garment.
Covered with, made from, or wearing leather; sometimes used of a surface that resembles leather.
"The old armchair had worn leathered upholstery."
Common in descriptions of clothing, furniture, and bindings.
The past tense and past participle of leather, meaning to cover with leather or, in an older informal use, to beat.
"The worker leathered the handle before fitting it to the chair."
The verb use is uncommon in modern English; the older sense meaning to beat is chiefly literary or dated.
Leathered turns a simple material into a vivid image: a chair, glove, or surface wrapped in hide.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does leathered come from?
The word is formed from leather with the suffix -ed, producing an adjective meaning covered with or made of leather. Leather itself is an old English noun inherited from Proto-Germanic, and related forms appear across Germanic languages. The modern adjective follows the ordinary English pattern of converting a noun into a descriptive word with -ed.
Related word forms
How leathered is actually used
As an adjective, leathered is straightforward but somewhat more compact than leather-clad or covered in leather. The verb use is now uncommon and often literary or archaic.
Easily confused with leathered
Leathered describes something covered with or made from leather, whereas leathery describes something that feels or resembles leather.