Word of the Day

: July 28, 2009

mohair

noun MOH-hair

What It Means

: a fabric or yarn made wholly or in part of the long silky hair of the Angora goat; also : this hair

mohair in Context

This year's product line includes coats and sweaters made from mohair produced in Texas.

Did You Know?

"Mohair" entered the English language in the 16th century, spelled variously as "mocayare," "mockaire," "mokayre," and "moochary." It was borrowed from Italian "mocaiarro," a word which itself was borrowed from Arabic "mukhayyar." The adjective "mukhayyar" meant "select" or "choice." How this Arabic adjective came to be the English noun "mohair" is a bit of a mystery. It is possible that "mukhayyar" was used as a colloquial noun in the sense of "wool of prime quality" (that is, "choice wool"). In English, the shift from "mocayare" and similar spellings to "mohair" was likely influenced by the more familiar English word "hair."