Karakul

or car·a·cul

[ kar-uh-kuh l ]
/ ˈkær ə kəl /

noun (sometimes lowercase)

one of an Asian breed of sheep having curly fleece that is black in the young and brown or gray in the adult: raised especially for lambskins used in the fur industry. Compare broadtail, Persian lamb.
(sometimes lowercase) a Karakul lambskin.

Origin of Karakul

First recorded in 1850–55; after Kara Kul lake on the Pamir plateau, Tajikistan, near where the sheep were bred

Example sentences from the Web for karakul

  • He hesitated, and finally declared that he could not venture in the direction where the karakul had appeared.

    Twice Lost |W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for karakul

karakul

caracul

/ (ˈkærəkəl) /

noun

a breed of sheep of central Asia having coarse black, grey, or brown hair: the lambs have soft curled usually black hair
the fur prepared from these lambs
See also Persian lamb

Word Origin for karakul

C19: from Russian, from the name of a region in Bukhara where the sheep originated