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# Origins of the words suede and zamsha, Swedish gloves and the chamois
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/nash-staryi-dobryi-znakomyi-karl-filipp-prints-zamshevyi-to-est-shvedskii/
- Published: 2020-12-12T08:11:06.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T18:52:28.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Monarchies, Observations, Humour

Our good old acquaintance, Carl Philip, Prince of Suede, that is to say, of Sweden. This form of the word, suede, came into English from French, where it took hold thanks to the expression gants de Suède, "Swedish gloves", the name for articles made of the very soft, velvety leather that the Swedes knew how to produce. So there is no need to correct me: a good suede prince is Carl Philip, even if a married one.

The word *chamois*, by contrast, is etymologically linked to the Russian замша (zamsha), which derives from it by way of Polish and German; the root itself means the chamois antelope, an animal whose hide was often dressed in such a way as to yield suede. The dressing process itself involves the use of animal and vegetable fats, which is what achieves the distinctive suede effect. In Rus' this technology, too, had been known for quite some time.