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wampum

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Small cylindrical beads made from polished shells and fashioned into strings or belts, formerly used by certain Native American peoples as currency and jewelry or for ceremonial exchanges between groups.
  • noun Informal Money.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Small shell beads pierced and strung, used as money and for or nament by the North American Indians.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Beads made of shells, used by the North American Indians as money, and also wrought into belts, etc., as an ornament.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Small beads made from polished shells, especially white ones, formerly used as money and jewelry by certain Native American peoples.
  • noun informal Money.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun small cylindrical beads made from polished shells and fashioned into strings or belts; used by certain Native American peoples as jewelry or currency
  • noun informal terms for money

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Short for wampumpeag.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Abbreviated from wampumpeag (from Narragansett); falsely analysed as ‘wampum’ + ‘peag’; from ‘wamp’ ("white") + ‘umpe’ ("string") + ‘ag’ (plural suffix), in reference to the string of white shell-beads and not the individual beads.

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Examples

  • The shells of these clams are used by the Indians as money, and make what they call their wampum; they likewise serve their women for an ornament, when they intend to appear in full dress.

    Camps and Firesides of the Revolution 1902

  • The shells of these clams are used by the Indians as money, and make what they call their wampum; they likewise serve their women for an ornament when they intend to appear in full dress.

    The Conquest of Canada (Vol. 1 of 2) George Warburton 1836

  • The word wampum [wompam], [1] which has since become a general term, was restricted by the Indians to the white beads.

    Wampum A Paper Presented to the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia Ashbel Woodward

  • [80] That is, the French commander said that the Indians had accepted wampum from the French towns, and therefore could not complain of them.

    Camps and Firesides of the Revolution 1902

  • I admired his war-girdle and moccasins, speaking somewhat carelessly of the beautiful shell-work designs as "wampum" -- an Iroquois term.

    The Hidden Children 1899

  • The wampum was her family record, badge of her office; speech made while holding it was tantamount to testimony made upon the Bible.

    Drums of Autumn Gabaldon, Diana 1997

  • Almost all the natives had Indian money, called wampum, which they made from abalone or clam-shells by cutting out round pieces like buttons or small, hollow beads.

    Stories of California Ella M. Sexton

  • The Indians had a sort of money called wampum, which was made of clam-shells, and this strange sort of specie was likewise taken in payment of debts by the English settlers.

    Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 4 Charles Herbert Sylvester

  • Rich furs, green tobacco and long strings of gay and polished shells called wampum were gladly exchanged by the Indians for bits of colored glass, beads, hatchets and knives, commencing a trade that was later extensively carried on in the north by the Hudson Bay Trading Company, and at the mouth of the river by the Dutch settlers.

    A Treasury of Heroes and Heroines A Record of High Endeavour and Strange Adventure from 500 B.C. to 1920 A.D. Clayton Edwards

  • The Indians had a sort of money, called wampum, which was made of clam-shells; and this strange sort of specie was likewise taken in payment of debts by the English settlers.

    Short Stories and Selections for Use in the Secondary Schools Emilie Kip Baker

Comments

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  • reesetee commented on the word wampum

    Originally wampumpeag.

    October 22, 2008

  • vanishedone commented on the word wampum

    Where can I exchange my wampum for a wompom?

    October 23, 2008

  • reesetee commented on the word wampum

    You can do such a lot with a Wompom,

    You can use every part of it too.

    For work or for pleasure,

    It's a triumph, it's a treasure,

    Oh there's nothing that a Wompom cannot do.

    October 23, 2008

  • bilby commented on the word wampum

    Also seawan.

    August 3, 2022