Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. White shell beads used as wampum.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Strings of (originally white) wampum formerly used as tokens of value by the American In dians, and by the whites, especially in trade with the Indians.
Wiktionary
- n. wampum
WordNet 3.0
- n. small cylindrical beads made from polished shells and fashioned into strings or belts; used by certain Native American peoples as jewelry or currency
Etymologies
- Massachusett.
Examples
“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.”
Folkways A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals
“And the year before that, he came in third having tripped up on the word "wampumpeag," a string of polished beads or shells.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘wampumpeag’.
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From the Algonquin et al.
Words derived from the innumerable languages of native Americans and the First Nations of Canada. I want to shine some light on this underexposed etymological background to so many common (and som...
raccoon, persimmon, mummichog, caucus, bayou, caribou, geoduck, chipmunk, skunk, opossum, moose, squash and 84 more...
reesetee See wampum. Oct 22, 2008