Pleather is artificial leather made from polyvinyl chloride. The word pleather is a portmanteau of the words plastic and leather. Pleather was coined in the late 1980s or early 1990s, it is a generic term for imitation leather.
Naugahyde is the proprietary name of an artificial leather, it was developed in the United States in 1936 by United States Rubber Products. The name is derived from Naugatuk, the town in Connecticut, plus hyde, a variant of hide, as in the hide of an animal. As Naugahyde was the first and only artificial leather for a number of years, Naugahyde has been used as a generic term for imitation leather. Strictly speaking, pleather is the generic term, Naugahyde is a proprietary name and should be capitalized, though one occasionally finds naugahyde rendered with a lower case letter.
Examples
The denim and pleather effect halterneck swimsuit from Skye and Staghorn featured a colour block pattern, as well as a plunging keyhole cutout panel. (The Daily Mail)
Going further than the inception and disposal options for leather and pleather, the lifespan is an important factor when making an educated decision on one’s opinion in regards to choosing faux or real leather. (The Michigan Daily)
Toronto police have arrested an alleged bank robber they’ve nicknamed the “Pleather Bandit.” (The Toronto Star)
The dark brown couch—probably government-issued Naugahyde—in the office of Anthony Fauci, MD, shows its age, the edges of its square seat cushions cracked and white. (The JOurnal of the American Medical Association)
In the club’s Tap Room, a Naugahyde shrine to the butter pat and the lemon wedge, Irving ordered a salmon salad. (The New Yorker)
You sense it when you sink into the worn, comfy booths, whose naugahyde has been broken in after years of self-medication with a bottle. (The Washington Post)