cashmere

/ˈkæʒmir/

/ˈkæʒmiə/

Other forms: cashmeres

Cashmere is an extremely soft wool that comes from a particular kind of goat. The goat itself is also called a cashmere.

When you knit a sweater from cashmere, you end up with a garment that's much softer and less itchy than regular wool. You can use the same word when you describe the fabric itself, and things made with it: "I want a red cashmere scarf for my birthday." In the 17th century, the word specifically meant "a cashmere shawl," from Kashmir, the region of the Himalayas where this type of goat originated.

Definitions of cashmere

1. noun

   the wool of the Cashmere goat
   type of:

   wool

   fiber sheared from animals (such as sheep) and twisted into yarn for weaving
2. noun

   a soft fabric made from the wool of the Cashmere goat
   type of:

   cloth, fabric, material, textile

   artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers