morocco

See also: Morocco

English

Book bound in a mustard-yellow morocco

Etymology

From the country name of Morocco, from which this leather was originally imported. Compare maroquin.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: mo‧roc‧co

Noun

morocco (countable and uncountable, plural moroccos)

1. A soft leather, made from goatskin, used especially in bookbinding.
   • 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 184:

     The purple morocco cases accompanying the latter contained a handsome set of gold ornaments. Louisa was deeply gratified, even more on Charles's account than on her own; it was such injustice on the part of her family to treat him with such insolence as Lady Anne and Lady Rotheles displayed.

   • 1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 164:

     Piers put the letter in an envelope and slipped it into a green morocco-covered volume on the window seat – his sister's diary.

2. A sheepskin leather in imitation of this.
3. A very strong ale, anciently brewed in Cumberland.

Synonyms

• (soft leather): maroquin, morocco leather

Derived terms

• French morocco, Levant morocco, Persian morocco