wampum
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈwɑːmpəm/
- US
:
wampum
- In the past, tribes would use wampum as a form of currency for trading goods and services.
- wampum belt
- wampum beads
- purple wampum
Examples
-
His torn buckskin shirt is tied at the waist with a wampum belt holding a tomahawk and a large knife.
Fiction book (1992) -
The marks worked on the wampum show that the British and Six Nations had united by treaty.
Academic text (2007) -
A string of wampum is then presented.
Academic text (1995) -
Instead, it seems that Chief Johnson described a Friendship Belt with the message of the Two Row Wampum.
Academic text (2007) -
The British give the wampum to confirm the rules and regulations of the Confederacy.
Academic text (2007) -
The firekeeper drew out a belt two feet long, three inches wide, containing nine rows of white wampum.
Academic text (2007) -
A calico shirt is gathered at the waist with a wampum belt of small white beads over a breechcloth.
Fiction book (1992) -
The Marquis de Montcalm is forty-five, wears a large wampum belt as a sash over his waistcoat.
Fiction book (1992) -
A pivotal celebration of fourteen or fifteen addresses and songs follows, with skeins or strings of wampum accompanying them as attesting tokens.
Academic text (1995) -
The Native American elder presented a colorful wampum belt as a ceremonial gift during the gathering.
Synonyms
1
2.7
A row of beads threaded together and worn as jewelry
Small polished shell beads used as jewelry or money
Small polished shell beads used as jewelry or money by Native American people
A long tube-shaped shell used as a bead or as money in some cultures
How Valuable
- US
1
9.9
14
4.1
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word wampum comes from a Native American word for small shell 'beads' that were polished and worn as jewelry or made into belts, and because these beads were also used for trade and gifts they came to be used like 'money', so wampum names those shell beads today.