taw

1) The process by which skins are converted into leather by steeping them in a solution of alum and salt.

The word is of Old English origin and the OED has references from that period. The early evidence in Yorkshire actually links the word with cloth: 1394 2 taude cloths, Hull but mostly it described the process by which skins are converted into leather by steeping them in a solution of alum and salt. In 1500, it was agreed in York that … no skynner … from hensfurth wyrk no stuffe tawed by any glover … and that no skynner … wirke ne tawe no prest stuff that is brought rawe, York. Later examples include: 1713 skins tanned, tawed or dressed, West Riding.

dates 1394 1500 1713

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