chamois

Meaning

Noun

1. A short-horned goat antelope native to mountainous terrain in southern Europe; Rupicapra rupicapra.
2. Short for chamois leather (“soft pliable leather originally made from the skin of chamois (nowadays the hides of deer, sheep, and other species of goat are alternatively used)”).
3. The traditional colour of chamois leather.
4. An absorbent cloth used for cleaning and polishing, formerly made of chamois leather.
5. A padded insert which protects the groin from the bicycle saddle.

Adj

Chamois-colored.

Verb

To clean with a chamois leather cloth.

Synonyms

shammy

chammy

chamois leather

Rupicapra rupicapra

bike shorts

suede

shammy leather

chammy leather

bicycling shorts

knicks

cycling shorts

ibex

doeskin

wash leather

wash-leather

izard

washleather

chamois cloth

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈʃæmwɑː/

Etymology

Cognate with Old High German: gamiza

In summary

Borrowed from Middle French chamois, from Late Latin camox, from Gaulish camox (5th c. AD, Polemius Silvius), probably from an extinct Alpine language (Raetic, Ancient Ligurian), possibly Proto-Indo-European *kem- (“without horns”). Compare also Old High German gamiza (“chamois”) (whence modern German Gämse).