potlatch
Americannoun
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(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.
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Pacific Northwest. a party or celebration.
noun
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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
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informal a wild party or revel
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
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.
An activist and artist, he was a devotee of the wealth-redistributing feast known as the potlatch, which he called “the best form of resistance we have” against Western capitalism.
From New York Times
The skillful netting of ducks scared up from Lake Union provided ample protein for potlatches and other tribal festivities.
From Seattle Times
“We bring it out at every potlatch,” George said.
From New York Times
Cultural gatherings like the canoe journey shared among tribes at Puget Sound and potlatches — ceremonial feasts that involve gift giving — are part of the equation, he said.
From Seattle Times
“They remember potlatch funerals with only 20-30 people — a generation was wiped out by the pandemic of 1918. That has been an ongoing reflection for me this entire year.”
From Seattle Times
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.
