of words!

as some of you know--i have turned into a knitting feind of late.. and every once in a while, knitting and word nerding overlap.

a few years ago i posted a bunch of words about fibers/weaves and textiles.. and their orgins, (which no one much seemed interested in) but that doesn't deter me now from trying again.

the knitting word of the day is: MOHAIR
Main Entry: mo·hair
Pronunciation: 'mO-"har, -"her
Function: noun
Etymology: modification of obsolete Italian mocaiarro, from Arabic mukhayyar, literally, choice
: a fabric or yarn made wholly or in part of the long silky hair of the Angora goat; also : this hair
(green= merriman webster on line dictionary)

i thought this was an interesting word.. the italian--mocaiarro-- is this related to caira (heart?love?) and to cardiac (of the heart?) and if so, is it because of the arabic mukhayyar--does anyone know if the kyayyar of mukhayyar is also a work for the heart? (choice seems so bland!)

secondly-- you'll notice, MOHAIR is the fiber for the angora goat. Angora is another fiber entirely--from a whole different species-just to confuse you! and Angora (whether applied to the goat or the fiber) is a coruption of yet another arabic word!
any guess which word?



my other obsession