Chamoisee
/ˌʃæmwɑːˈzeɪ/noun
Of a soft, light yellowish-brown color resembling chamois leather.
Did you know?Chamoisee comes from French chamoisé, “made like chamois leather,” ultimately tied to the Alpine chamois, so the word’s entire identity is borrowed from a tanned hide.
Etymological Timeline
French
French
chamoisé
“made like chamois leather; having a soft yellow-brown tint”
English
English
chamoisee
“a chamois-like yellowish-brown color”
Modern French
French
chamois
“chamois; also chamois leather”
Late Latin
Latin
camox
“chamois or Alpine goat-antelope”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kem-
“to bend, crooked; source of words for horned or curved animals in some branches”