Chăm’ois, n.

(shăm’my, or sha-moi’) (Synop., § 130), n. [Fr. chamois, It. camoscio, camozza, Sp. camuza, gamuza, from O. Ger. gamz. Cf. Sp. gamo, a buck of the fallow-deer.]

1. (Zoöl.) A species of antelope (Rupicapra Trag-us), living on the loftiest mountain ridges of Europe, as the Alps, Pyrenees, &c. It possesses remarkable agility in ascending and descending difficult passes, and is a favorite object of chase.
2. A kind of soft leather; so called because first prepared from the skin of this animal. Baird.