chamois

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)A short-horned goat antelope native to mountainous terrain in southern Europe; Rupicapra rupicapra.

   “When my father returned from Milan, he found playing with me in the hall of our villa a child fairer than pictured cherub – a creature who seemed to shed radiance from her looks and whose form and motions were lighter than the chamois of the hills.”

2. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable)Ellipsis of chamois leather (“soft pliable leather originally made from the skin of chamois (nowadays the hides of deer, sheep, and other species of goat are alternatively used)”).

   “[H]e seldom donned his armour, substituted costly damask and silk for his war-worn shamoy doublet, and affected at his advanced time of life more gaiety of attire than his contemporaries remembered as distinguishing his early youth.”

3. (countable, uncountable)The traditional colour of chamois leather.
4. (countable, uncountable)An absorbent cloth used for cleaning and polishing, formerly made of chamois leather.

   “I took them, breathed on them, polished them with a chamois and hung them on the chandelier.”

   “Mirrors can be cleaned with warm water and ammonia or vinegar and polished with a chamois.”

   “Once your paint has been restored, drying your car with a chamois is just about all you have to do to restore the luster.”

5. (countable, uncountable)A padded insert which protects the groin from the bicycle saddle.

adj

1. (not-comparable)Chamois-colored.

verb

1. (transitive)To clean with a chamois leather cloth.