Feminine

Gämse

Meaning

Concepts

chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra)

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɡɛmzə/

Inherited from Middle High German

Inherited from Old High German

In summary

From Middle High German gemeze, from Old High German gamiza (form only attested in a 13th-century manuscript). The variant Gams f is from Middle High German gamz m, f, n, from Old High German *gamuz or *gamaz (probably a masculine or neuter). These forms can be derived from Vulgar Latin *camōcius m, *camōcia f, which also underlie most of the dialectal Romance forms in Switzerland and northern Italy, probably from an extinct Alpine language (such as Raetic or Ancient Ligurian), eventually perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *kem- (“without horns”), although this is speculative. A more western form of the same word is attested in Late Latin camōx (5th century).