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Synonyms

potlatch

American  
[pot-lach] / ˈpɒt lætʃ /

noun

  1. (among Indigenous people of the northern Pacific coast, especially the Kwakiutl) a ceremonial festival at which gifts are bestowed on the guests and property is destroyed by its owner in a show of wealth that the guests later attempt to surpass.

  2. Pacific Northwest. a party or celebration.

potlatch British  
/ ˈpɒtˌlætʃ /

noun

  1. anthropol a competitive ceremonial activity among certain North American Indians, esp the Kwakiutl, involving a lavish distribution of gifts and the destruction of property to emphasize the wealth and status of the chief or clan

  2. informal a wild party or revel

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of potlatch

First recorded in 1835–45; from Chinook Jargon pátlač, páλač, from Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) p̉aλp̉a- (reduplication of p̉a- “make ceremonial gifts in potlatch”) + -č suffix marking iterative aspect

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.