astrakhan

plural astrakhans

1. countableuncountableClosely-curled black or grey fleece of very young karakul lambs from Astrakhan.
2. countableuncountableCloth resembling the above mentioned fur, often made from wool and mohair and used for trimmings.

   Was the cavalry officer slim and elegant, and dressed in astrakhan?

   1929 September, Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own, uniform edition, London: Leonard and Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, […], published 1931 (April 1935 printing), →OCLC

   4 more examples

   Our new acquaintance very deliberately coiled up the tube of his hookah, and produced from behind a curtain a very long befrogged topcoat with Astrakhan collar and cuffs.

   1890 February, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Story of the Bald-headed Man”, in The Sign of Four (Standard Library), London: Spencer Blackett […], →OCLC, pages 66–67

   Heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed across the sleeves and fronts of his double-breasted coat […]

   1891 June 25, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Adventure I.—A Scandal in Bohemia.”, in Geo[rge] Newnes, editor, The Strand Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly, volume II, London: George Newnes, Limited, […], published July 1891, →OCLC

   He was dressed in a long green overcoat with mock astrakhan cuffs and collar and wore on his head an oval fur cap.

   1914, James Joyce, The Dead

   He was dressed in uniform—a black uniform trimmed with gray astrakhan.

   1924, Richard Connell, The Most Dangerous Game

1. An oblast and federal subject of Russia. Seat: Astrakhan.
2. A city, the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River
3. A steppe in Russia, part of the Eurasian Steppes

plural Astrakhans

1. archaiccountableuncountableAlternative letter-case form of astrakhan.

   Heavy bands of Astrakhan were slashed across the sleeves and fronts of his double-breasted coat

   1891, Arthur Conan Doyle, A Scandal In Bohemia, Norton, published 2005, page 14

   1 more example

   Our new acquaintance very deliberately coiled up the tube of his hookah, and produced from behind a curtain a very long befrogged topcoat with Astrakhan collar and cuffs.

   1890 February, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Story of the Bald-headed Man”, in The Sign of Four (Standard Library), London: Spencer Blackett […], →OCLC, pages 66–67