This “chamois” is not a word I’m familiar with. It’s looks French, so I’d pronounce it like “sham-wah”.
Looking it up, it’s a very interesting word, meaning a specific type of goat, or the leather from that goat, or the color of the leather of that goat, or a washcloth made from the leather of that goat, or some padding made from the leather of that goat. And not necessarily actually made from that goat skin, but some other similar material.
There’s no English cognate to “chamois”, but German has “Gämse”.
I think we can thank the Normans and their rule of the English Isles. Just my early morning IHMO
1560 may be a stretch for that contribution. The Normans had a very long cultural reach.
It’s used as a blending tool when drawing, especially with charcoal. I sold art supplies for years and it was a common item on beginner drawing class materials lists. I got used to explaining how to say it and what it was made of.
My dad taught me to wash my first car. You want a genuine sheep skin Chamois. Wring it out as dry as possible. It will leave a streak free shine on a car finish.
They last a long time. I have two that were bought in the 1990’s.
I was livid when a friend ruined one on a dirty wet car. Those dirt stains won’t wash out.
It’s also a fabric; makes very nice cold weather shirts and pants (USA terminology).
And yes, I knew how to pronounce it, as well as the other common usage for a type of cleaning cloth. But I confess that I didn’t realize they used to be sheepskin. Makes sense, though. – Ah! Apparently originally originally not sheepskin, but skin of the antelope named chamois. Makes even more sense, now.
A few years ago (90s?) Armor-All sold a synthetic chamois and I bought one. It’s the best drying towel ever invented and I’m pretty sure that after 20 years of use, it can’t be destroyed. As far as I can tell, they quit making them, probably because they’re indestructible. Prying. . .cold dead fingers. . .etc.
I’ve always felt comfortable knowing that in a emergency financial bind I could scrap up money by detailing cars in driveways.
My dad taught me how to properly take care of my car’s finish.
Thankfully I’ve never quite reached that level of desperation. My shoulders couldn’t take the daily abuse now. I wash and detail my SO’s car and wait a week to do mine. Gotten lazy and do it monthly.
I never learned to use a buffer and polishing compound. I leave that to the pros that know how. A careless person can burn through and ruin the paint in 90 seconds.