chamois

American  

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

noun

chamoix plural

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

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• chamois
  plural
• chamoix
  plural

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

CHAMOIS, the Franco-Swiss name of an Alpine ruminant known in the German cantons as Gemse, and to naturalists as Rupicapra tragus or R. rupicapra tragus.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various