wampumpeag
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of wampumpeag
1620–30, earlier also wampampeak, wampompeage < Massachusett (cognate with Eastern Abenaki wάpαpəyak wampum beads; equivalent to Proto-Algonquian *wa·p- white + *-a·py- string + *-aki plural suffix)
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.
Agate, carnelian, jasper, lead, copper, gold, silver, terra-cotta, mica, pearl, lignite, coal, bone, shells, chalcedony, wampumpeag, etc.
From Project Gutenberg
The natives used both these shells to manufacture their wampum, or wampumpeag, the delicate inner wreath of the periwinkle being preferred.
From Project Gutenberg
The wampumpeag of the North American Indians is a case in point, as it certainly served as jewellery.
From Project Gutenberg
They were called wampumpeag, were sewed on deer or other fine skins, and the belts thus made were used to emphasize points in negotiation or in treaties, or in speeches.
From Project Gutenberg
Thus the singular peag currency, or wampumpeag, which was found in circulation among the North American Indians by the early explorers, was esteemed for the purpose of adornment, as already mentioned....
From Project Gutenberg
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.
