wigwam

[wig-wom, -wawm]

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noun

an American Indian dwelling, usually of rounded or oval shape, formed of poles overlaid with bark, mats, or skins.Compare lodge(def 9), tepee.

the Wigwam. Tammany Hall(def 2).

Origin of wigwam

1620–30, Americanism; < Eastern Abenaki wìkəwαm house < Proto-Algonquian *wi·kiwa·ʔmi; cf. wickiup

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wigwam

Contemporary Examples of wigwam

From Dollywood to the Wigwam Village Motel, the country never looked so sweet as through the eyes of a pooch.
My Travels with Samantha
David Jefferson
April 17, 2012

Historical Examples of wigwam

The boys lay down as usual in the wigwam in the midst of the family.
The Boy Captives
John Greenleaf Whittier
The boys lay down as usual in the wigwam, in the midst of the family.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VI (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
He then threw to them the morsel of moose-meat he had taken from the wigwam.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VI (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
My father was a chief; he had plenty meat and corn in his wigwam.
The Works of Whittier, Volume V (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
He comes into my Wigwam on all manner of occasions, and with the absurdest ‘Medicine.’
The Uncommercial Traveller
Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for wigwam

wigwam

noun

any dwelling of the North American Indians, esp one made of bark, rushes, or skins spread over or enclosed by a set of arched poles lashed togetherCompare tepee

a similar structure for children

Word Origin for wigwam

from Abnaki and Massachuset wīkwām, literally: their abode

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

Word Origin and History for wigwam

1620s, from Algonquian (probably Eastern Abenaki) wikewam "a dwelling," said to mean literally "their house;" also said to be found in such formations as wikiwam and Ojibwa wiigiwaam and Delaware wiquoam.