morocco

Etymology

The leather is named after Morocco, the country in north-western Africa where it was first made.^[2][3][4][5] The name of the country came into English from Italian Marocco;^[6][7][8] the OED compares Maroc and Marruecos, and traces the name, through a variant used in the Arabic of Spain from the late 11th century, to Arabic مراكش (Marrākuš), the name of Marrakesh, the former capital, perhaps ultimately of Berber origin.^[9] Before morocco, the leather was called maroquin, which came through French in the 16th century.^[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Fine goatskin leather: 1634 according to Merriam-Webster, the 1630s in Etymonline;^[5][2] the OED's first example of the noun is from George Vertue's notebooks (1735), and Barnhart dates it to Chambers's Cyclopaedia (1727–41).^[9][3] The adjective Morocco, of or from Morocco, is older: 1607, in Gervase Markham's Cavelarice.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The leather was made from goatskin tanned with sumac;^[2][5][9] it was prized for its firm texture, flexibility and grained surface, and used for book-bindings, for upholstering seats and in shoemaking.^[2][4] The name soon passed to imitations made from sheepskin or lambskin.^[5][7] Used as an adjective, “made of or bound in morocco” is recorded from 1751.^[9] Other things from Morocco, or supposed to be, took the name too: a plum (1707–1860), a dark purple grape (1763) and Morocco ale, a strong dark ale first brewed at Levens Hall in Westmorland (1792).^[9] Longfellow's The Spanish Student (1843) has in morocco for “naked”, which Green's Dictionary of Slang takes for a nonce word, probably a pun on in the buff.^[10][9]

Timeline

• 1607 – adjective: of Morocco.^[9]
• 1634 – the leather.^[5]
• 1707 – a kind of plum (obsolete by 1860).^[9]
• 1735 – the OED's first example of the leather.^[9]
• 1751 – adjective: made of morocco leather.^[9]
• 1763 – a dark purple grape.^[9]
• 1792 – Morocco ale.^[9]
• 1843 – in morocco, naked.^[10][9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A fine, flexible but firm leather made from goatskin tanned with sumac, with a pebbly grain, used especially for bookbinding and shoes.
2. An imitation of this leather made from sheepskin or lambskin.

Word family

• French morocco
• Levant morocco

Related words

• maroquin
• Moroccan

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com