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.

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goldbeater's skin British  

/ ˈɡəʊldˌbiːtəz /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of goldbeater's skin

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

goldbeater's skin

The gas cells of many of the early zeppelins were made from so-called goldbeater’s skin: cow intestines beaten to a pulp and then stretched.

From The New Yorker ● Feb. 29, 2016

Attaches a bit of clock spring to a piece of goldbeater's skin, speaks to it, an audible message is received at a distant and similar device.

From Little Masterpieces of Science: Invention and Discovery by George Iles

I could only get goldbeater's skin," he remarked, "and precious little of that, so be careful with it.

From Love Among the Lions A Matrimonial Experience by F. Anstey

I applied the caustic to form an eschar, covering it with goldbeater's skin.

From An Essay on the Application of the Lunar Caustic in the Cure of Certain Wounds and Ulcers by John Higginbottom

He used a diaphragm of goldbeater's skin, of conical shape, with a stylus acting over a fulcrum and writing on a thinly smoked glass plate.

From Harvard Psychological Studies, Volume 1 Containing Sixteen Experimental Investigations from the Harvard Psychological Laboratory. by Hugo Münsterberg