What Is a Chamois?

A chamois (pronounced sham-ee) is a kind of very soft cloth often used to polish automobiles, furniture, and other smooth surfaces, because it never scratches them.

Originally, this cloth was made from the skin of a goatlike antelope, the chamois, that lives in Europe. The chamois is now rare, and lives only in the Alps and other European mountains.

So most of the chamois sold today are made from sheepskin instead.