chamois Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a soft suede leather formerly from the skin of the chamois antelope but now from sheepskin
    chamois leather; chammy leather; shammy; shammy leather; chammy.
  2. noun hoofed mammal of mountains of Eurasia having upright horns with backward-hooked tips
    Rupicapra rupicapra.

WordNet

Cham"ois noun
Etymology
F. chamois, prob. fr. OG. gamz, G. gemse.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) A small species of antelope (Rupicapra tragus), living on the loftiest mountain ridges of Europe, as the Alps, Pyrenees, etc. It possesses remarkable agility, and is a favorite object of chase.
  2. A soft leather made from the skin of the chamois, or from sheepskin, etc.; -- called also chamois leather, and chammy or shammy leather. See Shammy.

Webster 1913