tepee
Britishnoun
Etymology
Origin of tepee
C19: from Siouan tīpī, from ti to dwell + pi used for
Explanation
A tepee is a traditional dwelling used by indigenous North Americans in the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies. Tepees are cone-shaped tents made of animal skins and wooden poles. Tepee, which can also be spelled teepee or tipi, comes from the Lakota word thípi, meaning "dwelling." Typical tepees have flaps that open at the top, allowing smoke to escape. Their structure makes them portable but sturdy, and the treated skins keep their inhabitants warm in the winter and dry in the rain. Today, people in native communities mainly use tepees for ceremonies rather than homes.
Vocabulary lists containing tepee
Native American History - Introductory
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Native American History - Middle School and High School
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Civilizations of the Americas, Lessons 3–4
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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.
This one has bigger siblings, in the Partner Tepee and the Expert Tepee.
From The Guardian • May 18, 2012
Perhaps that's the Tepee part, except that tepees are pointed and conical.
From The Guardian • May 18, 2012
Ah woo ah woo ah woo… What about the Outdoor part, though – this is the Peugeot Bipper Tepee Outdoor.
From The Guardian • May 18, 2012
Impressed, the Indians took to calling him the Big Father, his house the Big Tepee.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is the Sioux buffalo-skin, lodge, or Tepee, improved,—a cone truncated at the top and fitted with a movable apex for ventilation.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 45, July, 1861 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
