shagreen
[ shuh-green ]
/ ʃəˈgrin /
Save This Word!
noun
an untanned leather with a granular surface, prepared from the hide of a horse, shark, seal, etc.
the rough skin of certain sharks, used as an abrasive.
adjective
Also sha·greened . resembling, covered with, or made of shagreen.
QUIZZES
THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?
Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
Question 1 of 8
Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
Origin of shagreen
1605–15; <French chagrin, variant of sagrin<Turkish sağrι rump, crupper
Words nearby shagreen
shagged, shaggy, shaggy cap, shaggy-dog story, shaggy-mane, shagreen, shagreen skin, shagroon, shagtastic, shah, shahada
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for shagreen
Shagreen was formerly very extensively used for covering the cases of watches, spectacles, surgical instruments, &c.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II|Arnold Cooley
British Dictionary definitions for shagreen
shagreen
/ (ʃæˈɡriːn) /
noun
the rough skin of certain sharks and rays, used as an abrasive
a rough grainy leather made from certain animal hides
Word Origin for shagreen
C17: from French chagrin, from Turkish çagri rump; also associated through folk etymology with shag 1, green
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