Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The skin of an eel.
  • noun In ceramics, a peculiar glaze of a brownish-yellow tint, seen on old Chinese porcelain.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun the skin of an eel

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

eel +‎ skin

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Examples

  • His sockless feet were in old base-ball shoes of "eelskin," which were of the exact color of his coat, a dull green, like moldy, dried peas.

    Mystic Isles of the South Seas. Frederick O'Brien 1900

  • A small New England town makes a good lens through which to view American history and its codependent relationship with nature: First, the eels feed the citizens, and then they become material for industry in the form of eelskin boots, only to be replaced later by leather.

    Conjuring America through the lens of a New England town Anne Trubek 2011

  • As the Highmurf had promised, there on the third shelf was a fat tome bound in deep blue eelskin, the gold-leaf words on its spine long since worn to flecks.

    Father Swarat Matt Dennison 2010

  • Edit if I am not mistaken when you buy fine leather goods made of “eelskin” it is actually hagfish that this comes from.

    Hagfish embryos! - The Panda's Thumb 2007

  • “I don™t think so,” he said, and stepped on the phone with his eelskin cowboy boot, cracking it into a hundred jagged pieces.

    Ms Longshot Kurtz, Sylvie 2005

  • Beneath the shawl, her dresses were built, year in, year out, on the same plan: cut in one piece, buttoning right down the front, they fitted her like an eelskin, rigidly outlining her majestic proportions, and always short enough to show a pair of surprisingly small, well-shod feet.

    The Getting of Wisdom 2003

  • French popped the polished brass clasp on an elegant eelskin briefcase and removed a thick sheaf of papers.

    Impossible Places Foster, Alan Dean, 1946- 2002

  • But India rubber was too thick and became sticky when warm, lambskin and eelskin little better than bare hands, for they required seams and, once used, could not be used again.

    The Serpent's Shadow Lackey, Mercedes 2001

  • As the Highmurf had promised, there on the third shelf was a fat tome bound in deep blue eelskin, the gold-leaf words on its spine long since worn to flecks.

    The Dragons of Chaos Weis, Margaret 1997

  • The doctor had put on a small riding wig with an eelskin cue, and was getting into his greatcoat.

    Ben Comee A Tale of Rogers's Rangers, 1758-59

Comments

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  • "Edit if I am not mistaken when you buy fine leather goods made of “eelskin” it is actually hagfish that this comes from." --from the Wordnik examples

    October 20, 2011