wampumpeag

American  

[wom-puhm-peeg, wawm-] / ˈwɒm pəmˌpig, ˈwɔm- /

noun

1. wampum.

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Etymology

Origin of wampumpeag

1620–30, earlier also wampampeak, wampompeage < Massachusett (cognate with Eastern Abenaki wάpαpəyak wampum beads; equivalent to Proto-Algonquian *wa·p- white + *-a·py- string + *-aki plural suffix)

Example Sentences

They were called wampumpeag, were sewed on deer or other fine skins, and the belts thus made were used to emphasize points in negotiation or in treaties, or in speeches.

From Folkways A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals by Sumner, William Graham

Agate, carnelian, jasper, lead, copper, gold, silver, terra-cotta, mica, pearl, lignite, coal, bone, shells, chalcedony, wampumpeag, etc.

From Money: Speech of Hon. John P. Jones, of Nevada, On the Free Coinage of Silver; in the United States Senate, May 12 and 13, 1890 by Jones, John P. (John Percival)

Thus the singular peag currency, or wampumpeag, which was found in circulation among the North American Indians by the early explorers, was esteemed for the purpose of adornment, as already mentioned....

From Readings in Money and Banking Selected and Adapted by Phillips, Chester Arthur

The natives used both these shells to manufacture their wampum, or wampumpeag, the delicate inner wreath of the periwinkle being preferred.

From Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast by Drake, Samuel Adams

The wampumpeag of the North American Indians is a case in point, as it certainly served as jewellery.

From Readings in Money and Banking Selected and Adapted by Phillips, Chester Arthur