- plural of cowrie.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Porcelain manufacture, fragments found at Kayál; Chinese. —— shells, see Cowries.
From The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 2 by Yule, Henry
Cowries acquired their significance as currency as the result of incidents in some respects analogous to those which impelled the early Egyptians to make gold models of the shells.
From The Evolution of the Dragon by Smith, G. Elliot
Cowries were here used as coins, though somewhat cumbersome, as twenty were worth only a halfpenny; thus, in paying a pound sterling, nine thousand six hundred shells had to be counted out.
From Great African Travellers From Mungo Park to Livingstone and Stanley by Kingston, William Henry Giles
Cowries in the least damaged are bad coin, and go for less than those that are perfect.
From An Account of Timbuctoo and Housa Territories in the Interior of Africa by Jackson, James Grey
Thus, with the characteristic Chalk fossils, Belemnites, Baculites, Sea-Urchins, &c., are numerous Univalve Molluscs, such as Cowries and Volutes, which are otherwise exclusively Tertiary or Recent.
From The Ancient Life History of the Earth A Comprehensive Outline of the Principles and Leading Facts of Palæontological Science by Nicholson, Henry Alleyne