wampum

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wampum

/ˈwɒmpəm/ UK
/ˈwɑmpəm/ US

Where it comes from

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)

noun wampums · wampum · wompam

uncountable 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. [A]mong the Red Men of America the giving of the white belt of wampum was the deepest pledge of honor; […]
Similar: hiaqua, peag, porcelain, seawan, seawant
slang, uncountable Money. [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 go
Similar: ackers, bees and honey, blunt, bones, brass, bread, bread and honey, Bugs Bunny, cake, cheddar, cheese, ching
abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, obsolete Ellipsis of wampum snake (“the common kingsnake or eastern kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula)”).

Translations

Every language

noun small cylindrical beads made from polished shells (especially white ones) which have been strung together; one such bead

Español	wampum, chaquira
한국어	왐펌 wampeom
中文	貝殼串珠 /贝壳串珠 bèikéchuànzhū
Português	wampum
Deutsch	Wampum
Italiano	wampum
Русский	ва́мпум vámpum

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MLA

"wampum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/wampum. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

wampum. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/wampum

Chicago

"wampum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/wampum.

BibTeX

@misc{wampum_2026,
  title = {wampum},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/wampum},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}