leatherneck

[leth -er-nek]

noun Slang.

a U.S. marine.

Origin of leatherneck

First recorded in 1910–15; from the leather-lined collar which was formerly part of the uniform

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for leatherneck

Historical Examples of leatherneck

The leatherneck ran up to them, blurted out his story, gazed at them imploringly and thrust the puppies into their hands.
The Silent Readers
William D. Lewis
It showed the utter unselfishness of the American doughboy, gob, and leatherneck.
The Story of The American Legion
George Seay Wheat

British Dictionary definitions for leatherneck

leatherneck

noun

slang a member of the US Marine Corps

Word Origin for leatherneck

from the custom of facing the neckband of their uniform with leather

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

Word Origin and History for leatherneck

"U.S. Marine," 1914, Navy slang, from leather + neck (n.). So called for the leather collars of their early uniforms; earlier in British use (1890) as a sailor's term for a soldier.