coriaceous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of coriaceous
First recorded in 1665–75, coriaceous is from the Late Latin word coriāceus leathern. See corium, -aceous
Explanation
Coriaceous is a botanist's term for leathery in appearance, or just tough. You're not going to see it often used outside scientific contexts. To remember this word, think of corrugated which also describes a kind of surface roughness. Or think about how courageous people like sailors and mountain climbers end up with coriaceous or leathery skin. The word itself is a lesson in historical linguistics: Coriaceous is related to the Latin word corium, which entered English in the 1650s, and traces its history back to the Pan Indo European root *(s)ker-(1), which is responsible for the Sanskrit krtih "hide," and the Old English sceran "to cut, shear."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ovary ovoid, 1-celled, 1-ovuled, crowned with 2 spreading styles which are stigmatose down the inner side, in fruit becoming coriaceous and nut-like, not winged.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa
Flowers single in the axils of coriaceous scale-like bracts, which are densely imbricated in a head.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa
Seeds flattened, wingless.—Low and much branched shrubs, with nearly evergreen and coriaceous leaves, which are scurfy, especially underneath.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa
Dwarf woody evergreens, with small entire crowded coriaceous leaves.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa
Calyx 5-parted; the divisions somewhat petal-like, oblong, connivent and coriaceous in fruit, the base and almost the whole length of the pedicel winged on one side.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
