wampum

[ wom-puhm, wawm- ]

/ ˈwɒm pəm, ˈwɔm- /

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noun

Also called peag, seawan, sewan . 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.

Informal: Often Offensive. money.

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Origin of wampum

First recorded in 1630–40; short for wampumpeag

usage note for wampum

See firewater.

Words nearby wampum

wame, wammul, wammus, Wampanoag, wampish, wampum, wampumpeag, wampus, wamus, wan, WAN2TLK

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wampum in a sentence

America with lakes of lucre, waves of wampum, a Superstorm Sandy of simoleons, a Hurricane Katrina of cash.
The Federal Government Has Violated My Right to Chainsaw|P. J. O’Rourke|April 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Take blankets and beads to the Wyandots and watch them hang up white wampum.
A Virginia Scout|Hugh Pendexter
But wampum, like the race for whom it was made, was unable to hold its ground against the advancing civilization.
A short history of Rhode Island|George Washington Greene
The beads found in them are very like those which the barbarous Indians called wampum and used as money.
The Story of the Thirteen Colonies|H. A. (Hlne Adeline) Guerber

He took off his head-dress and bracelets, both being of yellow leather edged with wampum, and presented them to Cartier.
The Indian in his Wigwam|Henry R. Schoolcraft
As I embarked to return, he put the white wampum around my neck—a pledge of truth, my sweetheart, my Algonquin.
The Indian in his Wigwam|Henry R. Schoolcraft

British Dictionary definitions for wampum

wampum

/ (ˈwɒmpəm) /

noun

(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

US and Canadian informal money or wealth

Also called: peag, peage

Word Origin for wampum

C17: short for wampumpeag, from Narraganset wampompeag, from wampan light + api string + -ag plural suffix

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

Cultural definitions for wampum

wampum

[ (wahm-puhm) ]

Beads made from polished shells that some Native Americans once used as money and jewelry.

wampum

Origin of wampum

usage note for wampum

Words nearby wampum

Words related to wampum

How to use wampum in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wampum

Word Origin for wampum

Cultural definitions for wampum