Changthangi

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A hardy breed of goat raised on the high Changthang plateau of Ladakh, valued for the fine down it produces
2. A goat breed native to the cold, high-altitude Changthang region of Ladakh that yields prized fine wool
3. A type of goat reared on the windswept Changthang highlands in Ladakh, whose soft undercoat is used to make pashmina

Etymology: The changthangi is a goat of the Changthang, the high, cold plateau of eastern Ladakh in the Himalayas, and its name is simply the name of that place with a suffix attached. "Changthang" is a Tibetan-derived name for the northern plateau, and "-i" marks a person or thing belonging to or coming from it, so the word means something like "one of the Changthang" or "from the Changthang." English speakers borrowed the name for the animal from this local usage rather than building it from older English or Latin parts. The animal is valued for its fine undercoat, which is combed out in spring and spun into the soft wool known as pashmina. Because the plateau is high, dry and bitterly cold, the name ties the goat directly to the landscape that shaped it, and the word functions as a geographic label as much as a species name.