wampum
Americannoun
-
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.
-
Informal: Often Offensive. money.
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
-
informal money or wealth
Sensitivity
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.
The shells of the large, hard-shelled clam were used by the indigenous Narragansett people as wampum.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 24, 2023
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
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
At a museum, you learn about a treaty because the intriguing beads of a wampum belt drew you in.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 18, 2020
Around his neck hung a pouch of tobacco, a long knife, and a thick chain of the prized white shell beads called wampum.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
