chamois

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈʃæmwɑːz/, /ʃæmˈwɑ(z)/; /ˈʃæmwɑː/, /ˈʃæmi/ (UK); /ʃæmˈwɑ/, /ˈʃæmi/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French chamois,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Late Latin camox,^[2][3][4][5] probably from a pre-Latin Alpine language that also produced Italian camoscio and Old High German gamiza (German Gemse).^[3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

An agile Alpine goat antelope (1560, in the Geneva Bible).^[7][3][5][6]

Semantic evolution

The Geneva Bible used the word in Deuteronomy 14:5, where the Vulgate has camelopardus.^[6] The soft leather originally made from the animal's skin was called chamois from 1575,^[7][4][6] and is now made from the skins of sheep, deer and other animals;^[2][5][8] it was also spelled shammy.^[7][2][5] The word later named a cotton cloth imitating the leather,^[5][8] the colour of the leather (1872),^[7] and a polishing cloth.^[2][1] The verb, to polish with a chamois, dates from 1934.^[7][4]

Timeline

• 1560 – the Alpine antelope.^[7][3][5]
• 1575 – the soft leather.^[7]
• 1872 – the colour of chamois leather.^[7]
• 1934 – verb, to polish with a chamois.^[7][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An extremely agile goat antelope, Rupicapra rupicapra, of the mountains of Europe and the Caucasus, with upright horns hooked backward at the tips.
2. A soft, pliable leather made from the skin of this animal or of sheep or deer; also a piece of it, or a cotton fabric imitating it, used as a polishing cloth.
3. A moderate to greyish yellow.

Verb

1. To polish or buff with a chamois.

Word family

• chammy
• shammy

Related words

• antelope

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House