noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
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"[A]mong the Red Men of America the giving of the white belt of wampum was the deepest pledge of honor; […]"
"[Kenneth O'Keefe, letter] Have that seven quid. Or else I'll be kaput. […] [Sebastian Dangerfield, letter in reply] Kenneth, we all want wampum. And as you must know, if only I had some I would be only too willing to share. But the only thing I have here is a pile of business magazines which I am going to burn for a fire."
"Wampum are shell beads that were used as a currency by Native Americans."
Small cylindrical beads made from polished shells (especially white ones) which have been strung together, formerly used by Native American peoples of eastern North America for various purposes including as jewellery and money, and for record-keeping; (countable, archaic) one such bead.
Common synonyms include: anklet, armlet, bangle, bead, bead currency, beads.
Wampum are shell beads that were used as a currency by Native Americans.
Pronounced /ˈwɒmpəm/.
Clipping of wampumpeag (“wampum”), probably borrowed from Massachusett wampompeage (“string of white beads used as money”). Compare peag (“string of white beads used as money”), also a clipping of wampumpeag. Noun sense 3 (“common kingsnake”) is from the similarity of the snake’s appearance to a string of wampum. Cognates Penobscot wάpαpəyak (singular wάpαpi) Unami òpapiàk (singular òpapi)