seawan

Or sea·want,

[see-wuhn]

noun

1. wampum.

seawan

/ ˈsiːwən /

noun

1. shell beads, usually unstrung, used by certain North American Indians as money; wampum

Word History and Origins

Origin of seawan¹

First recorded in 1620–30, from New York Dutch sewan, zeewan, zeewant, etc., from Munsee Delaware *sé·wan “unstrung wampum,” literally, “that which is in a scattered state,” derivative of se·(w)- “scatter(ed)”

Word History and Origins

Origin of seawan¹

C18: from Narraganset seawohn loose

Example Sentences

Mollusks, Mollusca, Testacea. shell money. wampum, hiagua, peag, colcol, kopkops, seawan, suckanhock. shelter, n. protection, screen, cover, shield, defense, covert, security, lee; asylum, refuge, retreat, haven, sanctuary. shelter, v. shield, protect, defend, screen, ensconce, cover.

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Indian money. wampum, seawan, suckanhock, colcol, peag, hiagua, kopkops.

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"Seawan," he said coldly, correcting me and using the softer Siwanois term.

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Smiling and bashful she stood there in her clinging skirt and wampum-broidered vest, her slender, rounded limbs moulded into soft knee-moccasins of fawn-skin, and the Virgin's Girdle knotted across her thighs in silver-tasselled seawan.

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Little Oneida goddess in your bridal dress, the Seven Dancers are laughing at me from your eyes; and the Day-Sun and the Night-Sun hang from your sacred girdle, making it flash like silvery showers of seawan.

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