Names
The English name comes from French chamois. This is derived from Gaulish camox (attested in Latin, 5th cent.), itself perhaps a borrowing from some Alpine language (Raetic, Ligurian). The Gaulish form also underlies German Gemse, Gams, Gämse and Italian Camoscio.
The usual pronunciation for the animal is /ˈʃæmwɑː/ or /ʃæmˈwɑː/, approximating the French pronunciation. However when referring to chamois leather, and in New Zealand often for the animal itself, it is /ˈʃæmi/, and sometimes spelt "shammy" or "chamy". The plural of "chamois" is spelled the same as the singular, and it may be pronounced with the final "s" sounded: /ˈʃæmwɑːz/, /ʃæmˈwɑːz/, /ˈʃæmiz/. However, as with many other quarry species, the plural for the animal is often pronounced the same as the singular.
The Dutch name for the chamois is gems, and the male is called a gemsbok. In Afrikaans, the name "gemsbok" came to refer to a species of Subsaharan antelope of the genus Oryx, and this meaning of "gemsbok" has been adopted into English.
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