macoute
macoute noun: an abstract measure of value, said to be used by various peoples of Africa.
Noun (1)
macoute (plural macoutes)
- An abstract measure of value, said to be used by various peoples of Africa.
- The second example is found among the savages upon the African coast of Angola, where there is no real money known. The inhabitants there reckon by macoutes; and in some places this denomination is subdivided into decimals, called pieces. One macoute is equal to ten pieces. This is just a scale of...1796, James Steuart, An Inquiry Into the Principles of Political Economy
- The macoute, or unit of valuation, is neither actual nor visible, because it is entirely abstract and ideal, like all units. It is a method of measuring the value of one commodity by comparing it with another, through the instrumentality of an abstract unit which has neither length nor breadth.1878, John Badlam Howe, The Political Economy of Great Britain, the United States, and France, in the Use of Money
Noun (2) capitalized: Macoute
Macoute (plural Macoutes)
- A member of the Tonton Macoutes in Haiti; by extension, a thug or criminal.
- Every Macoute received a card that afforded him many privileges, like free merchandise from any store he entered, entitlement to coerced sex, and fear and respect from people in general.2011 March 22, Kim Ives, The Guardian
- Fred also wanted to make sure I knew which macoutes were the worst ones.2013, Amy Wilentz, Farewell, Fred Voodoo, Simon & Schuster, page 11
Examples of macoute in a sentence
- The inhabitants there reckon by macoutes; and in some places this denomination is subdivided into decimals, called pieces.1796, James Steuart, An Inquiry Into the Principles of Political Economy:
- A certain commodity or merchandise is worth three macoutes; another, six macoutes; another, ten macoutes; that is, as if they said simply three, six, and ten.1905, The Spirit of Laws, volume 2:
Forms of macoute
| plural | macoutes |
|---|---|
| plural | Macoutes |
Origin of macoute
Short for Tonton Macoute.
Questions about macoute
- What does macoute mean?
- Macoute means an abstract measure of value, said to be used by various peoples of Africa.
- How do you use macoute in a sentence?
- The inhabitants there reckon by macoutes; and in some places this denomination is subdivided into decimals, called pieces.
- What part of speech is macoute?
- Macoute is a noun.
- What is the plural of macoute?
- The plural of macoute is macoutes.
Words near macoute in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: macoute (page history and authors); Macoute (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “macoute.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/macoute. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.