wampum
Americannoun
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Also called sewan, peag, seawan. cylindrical beads made from shells, pierced and strung, used by North American Indians as a medium of exchange, for ornaments, and for ceremonial and sometimes spiritual purposes, especially such beads when white but also including the more valuable black or dark-purple varieties.
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Informal: Often Offensive. money.
noun
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(formerly) money used by North American Indians, made of cylindrical shells strung or woven together, esp white shells rather than the more valuable black or purple ones
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informal money or wealth
Sensitive Note
See firewater.
Etymology
Origin of wampum
First recorded in 1630–40; short for wampumpeag
Vocabulary lists containing wampum
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.
It was also their economic nerve center, with the salmon trading for all manner of goods from feathers to copper to wampum, beads crafted from shells.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 16, 2022
“You can sense that that’s not where they belong and that’s not where they want to be,” she said of the wampum belts, war clubs and other items she documented with her phone camera.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 21, 2022
And some of your ingredients felt like home to me, such as the Quogue clam, then later it comes wampum, the first money.
From Salon ● Dec. 12, 2021
In thinking about oyster shells, Michelson reflected on the cultural history of shells in Native art, from abalone jewelry to wampum belts used for diplomacy and incorporating hundreds of tiny shells.
From New York Times ● Oct. 4, 2021
In addition to the spoken word, their communication methods include petroglyphs, wampum belts, and books with symbols painted on bark cloth.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
