oilskin
Americannoun
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a cotton fabric made waterproof by treatment with oil and used for rain gear and fishermen's clothing.
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a piece of this.
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Often oilskins a garment made of this, especially a long, full-cut raincoat or a loose-fitting suit of pants and jacket as worn by sailors for protection against rain.
noun
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a cotton fabric treated with oil and pigment to make it waterproof
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( as modifier )
an oilskin hat
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(often plural) a protective outer garment of this fabric
Etymology
Origin of oilskin
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.
Helly Hansen traces its roots back to a Norwegian mariner of the same name, who produced his first oilskin weather protective waterproof jacket in 1877.
From Reuters ● Jul. 13, 2012
When he returns, tanned and wild-haired in an Australian oilskin, he stays just long enough for her to fall in love.
From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2011
The concept was based on contrasts: utilitarian oilskin leather and sequins or ultralight mohair used for tweedy tailoring.
From New York Times ● Feb. 18, 2010
In Poughkeepsie a group of fans bought bright pink oilskin tablecloths and fashioned capes and hoods out of them.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
He felt for the pack he’d been carrying and took something out, unfolding layers of oilskin and then striking a match to light a little tin lantern.
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
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.
