ORIGIN OF THE TERM "LEATHERNECK" FOR MARINES

Origin of the Nickname "Leathernecks" for the Marines

The following material is from: http://www.grunts.net/usmc/usmclore.html, web site for Marine Corps lore of all sorts.

It is questionable whether the origin of the term "Leatherneck" can be accepted as a legitimate member of the family of legends. More like a tradition, it is. For there can be no doubt of the origin, considering that U. S. Marines of three generations wore leather collars. It is as obvious as the nickname "Red" for a recruit with carrot-colored hair and freckles.

Now accepted by Webster as a synonym for Marine, the term "Leatherneck" was derived from a leather stock once worn around the neck by both American and British Marines--and soldiers also. Beginning in 1798, "one stock of black leather and clasp" was issued to each U. S. Marine annually.
This stiff leather collar, fastened by two buckles at the back, measured nearly three and a half inches high, and it prevented the neck movement necessary for sighting along a barrel. It supposedly improved military bearing, by forcing the chin high, although General George F. Elliott, recalling its use after the Civil War, said it made the wearers appear "like geese looking for rain."

The stock was dropped as an article of Marine uniform in 1872, after surviving through the uniform changes of 1833, 1839, and 1859. But by then it was a part of American vocabulary, a word preserved, like so many words, beyond its original meaning.
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Etymology of the Word "Leatherneck"

The following material is from http://wilton.net/etmya.htm, a list of etymologies of various words. Minor editorial changes have been made.

The chief dispute over the origin of this slang term for a marine is whether in originated in the Royal Marines or the U.S. Marines. The term is a reference to the high, leather collars that were once a part of marines' uniforms in both countries. Although Mencken and Morris recount the tale that British sailors called marines leathernecks not because of their collars, but because marines washed only their faces, omitting the rest of their bodies, resulting in an unwashed and leathery neck.

Mencken comes squarely down on the British-origin side, stating that the term crossed the Atlantic during the First World War. He may be right about the British origin, but his dates are clearly wrong. Lighter's earliest American citation is from 1907, too early for the WWI crossing. The earliest unambiguous citation is a reference to the Royal Marines, dating from 1889-90. But Lighter has a British citation from 1823 that refers to U.S. Marines and their "leather neckcloths."

Complicating the arguments of those who claim an American origin, is the fact that the U.S. Marines abandoned their leather neck stocks in 1875, some 32 years before the first attested American usage of the term. It is possible of course, if unlikely, that the slang usage survived those years unrecorded.
Partridge suggests that it may be related to boot-neck, another term for a Royal Marine that dates from the mid-nineteenth century.

The OED2 also includes an 1898 usage from Australia, where leatherneck is slang for a rouseabout, or a man or boy employed at a sheep station. This term is probably unrelated to the leatherneck as marine term, and probably derives from the leathery skin of the neck acquired from long hours working in the desert sun. [top]

References:

Mencken, H.L., The American Language, 4th Edition; Alfred A. Knopf; 1936. Supplement One, 1945. Supplement Two, 1948. The classic study of American English. It is somewhat dated, but still valuable for historical work. The abridged version is still in print: The American Language; H.L. Mencken; annotated and abridged by Raven I. McDavid, Jr.; Alfred A. Knopf; 1963; ISBN 0-394-73315-0.

Morris, William and Mary, Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins; Harper & Row; 1962. A book with some 3,000 interesting etymologies. This edition is somewhat dated and the Morrises sometimes favor folkloric explanations with little evidence, but a fun book that supplies the details behind some of the more interesting etymologies. The current edition, edited by the Morris's son Evan, corrects many of the shortcomings of the first one, but I don't use it as a reference--not for any fault just that it wouldn't add anything to my current library.

J.E. Lighter, editor, Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang; Random House; Vol. I: A-G, 1994, ISBN 0-394-54427-7; Vol. II, H-O, 1997, ISBN 0-679-43464-X. An invaluable source for non-standard, American words and phrases. Excellent usage citations. Unfortunately only the first two volumes have been published, so you are out of luck for words beginning with the letters P-Z. I rely heavily on this source, primarily because it gives actual citations of use.

Eric Partridge; edited by Paul Beale, A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 8th Edition; MacMillan; 1984; ISBN 0-02-594980-2. A superb source that focuses mainly on British slang, but which is also useful for Americanisms.

C.T. Onions, editor, The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology; Oxford University Press; 1966; ISBN 0-19-861112-9. With 24,000 entries, this in one of the most comprehensive etymological sources available. Its one drawback is a lack of slang entries, and given its age many slang terms it might have included have now passed into standard English.

Updated 26 February 2003[top]
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