chinchilla

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a small South American rodent with exceptionally dense, soft gray fur

   The chinchilla sheltered among rocks high in the Andes.

2. 2
   noun

   the soft gray fur of a chinchilla, or an imitation of it

   The collar was trimmed with gray chinchilla.

3. 3
   noun

   a thick, softly finished twilled fabric, traditionally made of wool and cotton

   His winter coat was cut from heavy chinchilla.

Borrowed from Spanish chinchilla, the name of the Andean animal; its deeper origin is uncertain and has been connected with Indigenous South American names. English extended the animal name first to its fur and then to fabrics resembling that fur.

Topics