English▸ noun a sheep of an Asian breed with a dark curled fleece when young.
▪ [mass noun] cloth or fur made from or resembling the fleece of the karakul. Also called Persian lamb:
[as modifier] a karakul hat.
– ORIGIN mid 19th century: from Russian, from the name of an oasis in Uzbekistan and of two lakes in Tadjikistan, based on Turkic.