wampum

wam·pum

noun \ˈwäm-pəm\

Definition of WAMPUM

1

: beads of polished shells strung in strands, belts, or sashes and used by North American Indians as money, ceremonial pledges, and ornaments

2

: money

Examples of WAMPUM

1. <made some real wampum on that last business deal>

Origin of WAMPUM

short for wampumpeag

First Known Use: 1636

Related to WAMPUM

Synonyms

bread [slang], bucks, cabbage [slang], cash, change, chips, coin, currency, dough, gold, green, jack [slang], kale [slang], legal tender, lolly [British], long green [slang], loot, lucre, moola (or moolah) [slang], needful, pelf, scratch [slang], shekels (also sheqels or shekelim or shekalim or sheqalim), tender, money

Related Words

coinage, specie; dead presidents [slang], folding money, paper money, scrip; banknote, cashier's check, check, draft, money order, note, promissory note; bill, dollar, greenback; bankroll, capital, finances, funds, roll [slang], wad, wallet; chump change, dibs [slang], dime, mite, peanuts, pittance, shoestring; big bucks, bomb [British], boodle, bundle, earth, fortune, king's ransom, megabucks, mint, packet [chiefly British], pile, pot; abundance, means, opulence, riches, treasure, wealth; resources, wherewithal; mad money, petty cash, pin money, pocket money, spending money

wampum

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Tubular shell beads assembled into strings or woven into belts or embroidered ornaments. The Algonquian word (short for wampumpeag) translates as “string of white (shell beads).” Before contact with white settlers, Indians used wampum primarily ceremonially or in gift exchanges. In the early 17th century it came to be used as money in trade with whites, because of a shortage of European currency.