Gämse

German

Alternative forms

Gams (chiefly Bavarian, but more widespread in Gamswild, Gamsbock)
Gemse (superseded spelling)

Etymology

From Middle High German gemeze, from Old High German gamiza (form only attested in a 13th-century manuscript). The variant Gams f is from Middle High German gamz m, f, n, from Old High German *gamuz or *gamaz (probably a masculine or neuter). These forms can be derived from Vulgar Latin *camōcius m, *camōcia f, which also underlie most of the dialectal Romance forms in Switzerland and northern Italy, probably from an extinct Alpine language (such as Raetic or Ancient Ligurian), eventually perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *kem- (“without horns”), though this is speculative. A more western form of the same word is attested in Late Latin camōx (5th century).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɡɛmzə/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -ɛmzə

Noun

Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value)

chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra)

Usage notes

The spelling Gämse has been the prescribed spelling since the German spelling reform of 1996 (the Rechtschreibreform). In the affected areas, the previous spelling (Gemse) is now less common, and may be regarded as a misspelling.

Declension