chamois English · revision 778
10 Oct 2026, 22:55 by bogdan “New entry from the dictionary sources (AHD, Barnhart, Etymonline, MW, OED, RHWU, Wiktionary, Hoad, MED, Word Origins)” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈʃæmwɑːz/, /ʃæmˈwɑ(z)/; /ˈʃæmwɑː/, /ˈʃæmi/ ''(UK)''; /ʃæmˈwɑ/, /ˈʃæmi/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[bor|frm|chamois]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) [[der|la-lat|camox]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) probably from a pre-Latin Alpine language that also produced Italian ''camoscio'' and Old High German ''gamiza'' (German ''Gemse'').^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ An agile Alpine goat antelope (1560, in the Geneva Bible).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The Geneva Bible used the word in Deuteronomy 14:5, where the Vulgate has ''camelopardus''.^(Hoad 1986) The soft leather originally made from the animal's skin was called ''chamois'' from 1575,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and is now made from the skins of sheep, deer and other animals;^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) it was also spelled ''shammy''.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) The word later named a cotton cloth imitating the leather,^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) the colour of the leather (1872),^(OED 1989) and a polishing cloth.^(AHD)^(Wiktionary) The verb, to polish with a chamois, dates from 1934.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1560 – the Alpine antelope.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1575 – the soft leather.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1872 – the colour of chamois leather.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1934 – verb, to polish with a chamois.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # An extremely agile goat [[antelope]], ''Rupicapra rupicapra'', of the mountains of Europe and the Caucasus, with upright horns hooked backward at the tips.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # 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.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A moderate to greyish yellow.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ===Verb===
+ # To polish or buff with a chamois.^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[chammy]]
+ * [[shammy]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[antelope]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}