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

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

Chamois are gregarious, living in herds of 15 or 20, and feeding generally in the morning or evening.

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