saffian

[ saf-ee-uhn ]

noun

1. a leather made of goatskin or sheepskin, usually dyed in bright colors.

saffian

/ ˈsæfɪən /

noun

1. leather tanned with sumach and usually dyed a bright colour

Word History and Origins

Origin of saffian¹

1585–95; < Russian safʾyán < Turkic (compare Turkish sahtiyan ) < Persian sekhtiyān, akin to sekht hard, firm

Word History and Origins

Origin of saffian¹

C16: via Russian and Turkish from Persian sakhtiyān goatskin, from sakht hard

Example Sentences

“The first time it was San Bernardino,” said Laurie Saffian, co-chair of the nonprofit group Women Against Gun Violence.

From Los Angeles Times

Saffian, saf′i-an, n. a name applied to skins tanned with sumac and dyed in bright colours.

From Project Gutenberg

Hutton Vice President Marvin Saffian: "If the Pronto had been introduced in 1972, it would have saved a lot of money, a lot of reputations and a lot of jobs on Wall Street."

From Time Magazine Archive

And a descendant of the sublime family of higher intelligences which sprung from this union is our dear Baron Porphyrio von Ockerodastes, who has adopted the sobriquet of Cordovanspitz to indicate his ancestral connection with Cordova in Spain, and to distinguish himself by it from a more haughty but less worthy collateral line of the family, which bears the title of 'Saffian.'

From Project Gutenberg