noun General Slang

leatherneck

· noun · military

A US Marine — from the leather neck-stock of the early Corps uniform.

0

Definitions

1

Classic nickname for a US Marine, dating to the late 1700s when Marines wore a stiff leather neck-stock as part of the uniform — both to enforce upright bearing and to protect the throat from cutlass slashes in boarding actions. The leather collar is gone but the name stuck for over two centuries. 'Leatherneck' is also the title of the Corps' long-running magazine, founded 1917.

“The leathernecks held the perimeter for three days before relief got through.”
by community
0

leatherneck In A Sentence

The leathernecks held the perimeter for three days before relief got through.

Origin & Usage

Late 18th-century US Marines, from the leather stock worn around the neck as part of the dress uniform from 1798 to 1872.

Variants leathernecks
Tags #military#usmc#uniform#tradition

Comments 0