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goldbeater's skin

American  
[gohld-bee-terz] / ˈgoʊldˌbi tərz /

noun

  1. the prepared outside membrane of the large intestine of the ox, used by goldbeaters to lay between the leaves of the metal while they beat it into gold leaf.

goldbeater's skin British  
/ ˈɡəʊldˌbiːtəz /

noun

  1. animal membrane used to separate sheets of gold that are being hammered into gold leaf

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of goldbeater's skin

First recorded in 1700–10; gold + beater + 's 1

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.