Shammy
/ˈʃæmi/noun
A soft leather cloth, especially one made from chamois leather, used for polishing or drying.
Did you know?“Shammy” is a clipped, anglicized form of chamois, the name of a goat-antelope whose skin was traditionally turned into the famous soft polishing leather.
Etymological Timeline
Early Modern French
French
chamois
“A chamois, the agile Alpine goat-antelope; also its leather”
16th Century
English
chamois
“The animal and the soft leather made from its skin”
18th–19th Century
English
shammy
“A colloquial shortening of chamois, especially the leather cloth”
Modern English
English
shammy
“A soft leather cloth used for polishing or drying”
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