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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.
Examples of mohair in a Sentence
Talia Abbas, Vogue, 7 July 2025
There are mohair banquettes, patina walls, flickering candelight, a marble bar bordered by electric green stripes and green bar stools with gold fringe.
—Laurie Werner, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
In real life, the author enlisted a cousin to design some custom looks including a mohair white jacket.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 24 June 2025
The rooms themselves also feature deep tubs and custom details (a John Derian pen pot here, a mohair accent there).
—Katharine Sohn, Architectural Digest, 16 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Mohair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mohair. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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mohair
noun
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