A hide or skin is an animal skin treated for human use. The word "hide" is related to the German word "Haut" which means skin. The industry defines hides as "skins" of large animals e.g. cow, buffalo; the skins refer to "skins" of smaller animals: goat, sheep, deer, pig, fish, alligator, snake, etc.Common commercial hides include leather from cattle and other livestock animals, buckskin, alligator skin and snake skin. All are used for shoesclothes, leather bags, belts, or other fashion accessories. Leather is also used in cars, upholstery, interior decorating, horse tack and harnesses. Skins are sometimes still gathered from hunting and processed at a domestic or artisanal level but most leather making is now industrialized and large-scale. Various tannins are used for this purpose. Hides