doeskin
(ˈdəʊskɪn)
[f. doe + skin n.]
1. The skin of a doe.
| 1457 Churchw. Acc. Tintinhull (Somerset Rec. Soc.) 187 It. in una pelle de doeskyne pro eisdem libris vij{supd}. 1535 Coverdale Exod. xxv. 5 Goates hayre, reed skynnes of rammes, doo skynnes. 1795 Hull Advertiser 28 Nov. 1/1 A large assortment of prime Buck and Doe Skins. 1855 Longfellow Hiaw. xi. 74 He was dressed in shirt of doeskin. |
b. A kind of leather made from this skin.
| 1710 Lond Gaz. No. 4662/4 A pair of Doe-Skin Breeches, with Brass Buttons. 1799 Med. Jrnl. II. 437 Thick, soft, and elastic leather, such as doe or buck skin. |
2. A highly-finished closely-cut thick black cloth, twilled, but dressed so as to show very little of the twill.
Believed to have been so named as applied to a softer and less stout cloth than that called ‘buckskin’, which for riding breeches took the place of real buck-skins.
| 1851 Rep. Juries Gt. Exhib. 351/2 A great variety of fancy doeskins. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Doeskin, a single width fine woolen cloth for men's wear. |