chamois

American  

[sham-ee, sha-mwah] / ˈʃæm i, ʃaˈmwɑ /

noun

plural

chamois, chamoix

1. an agile, goatlike antelope, Rupicapra rupicapra, of high mountains of Europe: now rare in some areas.

2. a soft, pliable leather from any of various skins dressed with oil, especially fish oil, originally prepared from the skin of the chamois.

3. a piece of this leather.

4. a cotton cloth finished to simulate this leather.

5. a medium to grayish yellow color.

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verb (used with object)

chamoised, chamoising

1. to dress (a pelt) with oil in order to produce a chamois.

2. to rub or buff with a chamois.

chamois British  

/ ˈʃæmɪ, ʃamwa /

noun

1. a sure-footed goat antelope, Rupicapra rupicapra, inhabiting mountains of Europe and SW Asia, having vertical horns with backward-pointing tips

2. a soft suede leather formerly made from the hide of this animal, now obtained from the skins of sheep and goats

3. Also called: chamois leather.   shammy.   shammy leather.   chammy.   chammy leather.  a piece of such leather or similar material used for polishing, etc

4. 1. a yellow to greyish-yellow colour

   2. (as modifier)

      a chamois stamp

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verb

1. to dress (leather or skin) like chamois

2. to polish with a chamois

Etymology

Origin of chamois

First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French, from Late Latin camox, presumably of pre-Latin origin; cf. gems

Example Sentences

It now features a variety of other herbal liqueurs in addition to Chartreuse, including Dolin’s Génépy le Chamois liqueur.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 18, 2023

And add Chamois Butt’r or other lubricant to your packing list.

From Washington Post • Mar. 25, 2021

Visitors to it can now see Tham Luang cave from a short distance away, through a chain-link fence, and can explore three of the park’s other caves – Buddha, Naga and Chamois.

From The Guardian • Nov. 27, 2018

Some of the company’s 140,000 products, like the Field Coat and the Chamois Shirt, have been around for decades.

From New York Times • Sep. 3, 2015

He rode off, leaving word that he was going toward the Chamois hill, and instructing the foreman to tell his groom as much, in case he should come after him.

From On the Heights A Novel by Auerbach, Berthold