wampum
Americannoun
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Also called sewan. Also called 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
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.
Trina wears her wampum beads She fills her drawing book with line Sewing lace on widow’s weeds And filigree on leaf and vine.
From New York Times
The shells of the large, hard-shelled clam were used by the indigenous Narragansett people as wampum.
From Seattle Times
The Vatican insists the artifacts, including ceremonial masks, wampum belts and feathered headdresses, were gifts.
From Seattle Times
A pair of cases are devoted to items from the Nanticoke people, including a wampum belt and necklace featuring whelk and clam shells and a toy canoe crafted from pine needles and sinew.
From Washington Post
"The float's pathways symbolize the colors of the four directions, led by Grandmother Eastern Pine Tree, adorned by wampum shells of the water, & surrounded by sweetgrass, sassafras & wild berry plant relatives," according to Macy's.
From Salon
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.
