Definitions

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun leather from the skin of a cow.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun leather made from the hide of a cow or similar animal

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun leather made from the hide of a cow

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • The cowskin is a kind of whip seldom seen in the northern states.

    My Bondage and My Freedom. By Frederick Douglass. With and Introduction. By James M`Cune Smith. 1855

  • The cowskin is a kind of whip seldom seen in the northern states.

    My Bondage and My Freedom. Part I.--Life as a Slave. Part II.--Life as a Freeman 1850

  • For the information of my readers, I must observe that a cowskin is a large whip, made like a riding whip, out of the hide of the hippopotamus, or sea-cow, and is proverbial for the severity of punishment it is capable of inflicting.

    Frank Mildmay Or, The Naval Officer Frederick Marryat 1820

  • The phrase itself expresses this antipathy; and when applied by a negro to a white man is regarded by the latter as a dire insult, and usually procures for the imprudent black a scoring with the "cowskin," or a slight "rubbing down" with the "oil of hickory."

    The Quadroon Adventures in the Far West Mayne Reid 1850

  • There was the regular "negro-trader," a tall lathy fellow, with harsh horse-dealer features, careless dress, loose coat, slouching broad-brimmed hat, coarse boots, and painted quirt of raw hide, -- the "cowskin," -- fit emblem of his calling.

    The Quadroon Adventures in the Far West Mayne Reid 1850

  • "In answering the proposed inquiries, I will say first, that although there are various other modes resorted to, whipping with the cowskin is the usual mode of inflicting punishment on the poor slave.

    The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Part 3 of 4 American Anti-Slavery Society

  • "In answering the proposed inquiries, I will say first, that although there are various other modes resorted to, whipping with the cowskin is the usual mode of inflicting punishment on the poor slave.

    The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus American Anti-Slavery Society

  • "In answering the proposed inquiries, I will say first, that although there are various other modes resorted to, whipping with the cowskin is the usual mode of inflicting punishment on the poor slave.

    American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses 1839

  • A worn cowskin jacket was draped over his skinny shoulders.

    LUCKY WES TOOKE 2010

  • AN HOUR later, Kim was sitting on the cowskin couch.

    Vicious Grace M.L.N. Hanover 2010

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