Karakul

or car·a·cul

[ kar-uh-kuhl ]

noun

, (sometimes lowercase)

1. 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.
2. (sometimes lowercase) a Karakul lambskin.

karakul

/ ˈkærəkəl /

noun

1. a breed of sheep of central Asia having coarse black, grey, or brown hair: the lambs have soft curled usually black hair
2. the fur prepared from these lambs

Word History and Origins

Origin of Karakul¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Karakul¹

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

Example Sentences

There was a big picture of a bearded man in a woolen Karakul hat on the cover.

From Literature

In their place are elderly, ultra-Orthodox Jews wearing black overcoats and fedoras; south and central Asians with traditional karakul hats; and gaggles of merchants shouting in languages from across the world.

From Salon

Most fur-bearing animals have never been domesticated, which makes raising a fox for the trim of a parka inherently crueler than aborting a karakul lamb for a wool cap, animal rights activists say.

From Los Angeles Times

When we reached a pasture between snow-capped mountains and saw Karakul Lake glittering in the distance, we got off.

From The New Yorker

“I am not a government supporter,” said Yadagar Karakul, a 30-year-old event coordinator.

From Washington Post