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Webster 1913 Edition

Chamois

Cham′ois

(shăm′my̆ or shȧ-moi′; 277)
,
Noun.
[F.
chamois
, prob. fr. OG.
gamz
, G.
gemse
.]
1.
(Zool.)
A small species of antelope (
Rupicapra tragus
), living on the loftiest mountain ridges of Europe, as the Alps, Pyrenees, etc. It possesses remarkable agility, and is a favorite object of chase.
2.
A soft leather made from the skin of the chamois, or from sheepskin, etc.; – called also
chamois leather
, and
chammy
or
shammy leather
. See
Shammy
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Chamois

CHAMOIS

,
Noun.
An animal of the goat kind, whose skin is made into soft leather, called shammy. It is now arranged with the Antelopes.

Definition 2024

chamois

chamois

English

Noun

Rupicapra rupicapra (1)

chamois ‎(plural chamois)

  1. A short-horned goat antelope native to mountainous terrain in southern Europe; Rupicapra rupicapra.
  2. (usually as “chamois leather”) Soft pliable leather originally made from the skin of chamois (nowadays the hides of deer, sheep, and other species of goat are alternatively used).
  3. The traditional colour of chamois leather.
    chamois colour:    
  4. An absorbent cloth used for cleaning and polishing, formerly made of chamois leather.
    • 1926, Louise de Koven Bowen, Growing Up with a City, University of Illinois Press (ISBN 9780252070440), page 39
      I took them, breathed on them, polished them with a chamois and hung them on the chandelier.
    • 1984, Cruising World, page 158
      Mirrors can be cleaned with warm water and ammonia or vinegar and polished with a chamois.
    • 1989, Popular Mechanics, page 146
      Once your paint has been restored, drying your car with a chamois is just about all you have to do to restore the luster.

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

chamois ‎(not comparable)

  1. Chamois-colored.

See also

  • Appendix:Colors

French

Etymology

From Late Latin camōx, camōcis (5th c.), from Gaulish, probably from an extinct Alpine language (Raetic, Ligurian).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʃa.mwa/

Noun

chamois m ‎(plural chamois)

  1. chamois (animal)
  2. chamois (leather)

Derived terms

Anagrams

Etymology

Borrowing from French en chamois, from Gaulish camox (5th c., Polemius Silvius), probably from an extinct Alpine language (Raetic, Ligurian). Compare also Old High German gamiza ‎(“chamois”) (whence modern German Gämse).

Pronunciation

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