cowhide vs leather

cowhide and leather both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
cowhide	Yes	No	Yes	No
leather	Yes	No	Yes	No

As nouns, leather is a hypernym of cowhide; that is, leather is a word with a broader meaning than cowhide:

cowhide: leather made from the hide of a cow
leather: an animal skin made smooth and flexible by removing the hair and then tanning

cowhide (noun)	leather (noun)
a heavy flexible whip braided from leather made from the hide of a cow	an animal skin made smooth and flexible by removing the hair and then tanning
leather made from the hide of a cow
the hide of a cow

cowhide (verb)	leather (verb)
flog with a cowhide	whip with a leather strap