shagreens

Noun

shagreen (countable and uncountable, plural shagreens)

1. An untanned leather, often dyed green; originally made from horse skin, today mostly made from the skin of a shark or ray.
   • The following day the treasures of the mysterious tower came pouring in: pictures, statues, gems, shells, china, stuffed beasts and birds, tables, vases, petrifactions, arms, mandarins, &c. &c.; and among them the shagreen skin, with the injunction, "Sell it for any thing—nothing—give it away...1832, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Heath's Book of Beauty, 1833, The Talisman, page 80

   Synonyms:

   chagrin, galuchat, sharkskin

2. A rough or spiny surface of an insect's cuticle.
   • If the shagreen dots be carefully observed they will be found to possess an annular arrangement.1883 November 7, Edward B. Poulton, “Notes upon, or suggested hy, the colours, markings, and protective attitudes of certain lepidopterous larvæ and pupæ, and of a phytophagous hymenopterous larva”...

See all 3 meanings of shagreen