leatherstocking
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈlɛðərˌstɑkɪŋ/
- Archaic
- In literature, a leatherstocking embodies the spirit of the American frontier, navigating the wilderness with skill and courage.
Examples
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Leatherstocking insists that the land should be there for all men to use reverently, handily sidestepping the issue of original ownership.
Academic text (1997) -
"Who are you to give us orders, leatherstocking?" said one.
Fiction book (2002) -
Leatherstocking says, looking right toward Canada, "cut down yonder fence, but spare my scanty forests."
Academic text (2000) -
In America, this "movement toward the Indian" is best exemplified by James Fenimore Cooper, whose Leatherstocking Tales celebrated the native virtues of Uncas, the fabled "last of the Mohicans."
Academic text (2015) -
The character of Natty Bumppo is often considered the quintessential leatherstocking in early American novels.
-
Many authors have depicted a leatherstocking as a symbol of independence and a connection to nature in their stories.
Synonyms
4
8.9
A man who lives at the edge of settled land and explores new areas
Compounds
- Literature
1
9.9
A series of historical novels by James Fenimore Cooper about Natty Bumppo and the American frontier
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word leatherstocking comes from the parts leather and stocking, because early American frontiersmen often wore leather 'stockings' or leggings for protection. So leatherstocking became a name for a frontier man in early 19th-century stories.