potlache

Noun

potlache (plural potlaches)

1. Dated spelling of potlatch.
   • I questioned the Chief respecting a "Potlache" which he had held at his place during the previous winter, and ascertained that himself and two of his Headmen had given away in presents to their friends 134 sacks of flour, 140 pairs of blankets, together with a quantity of apples and provisions...1876 October 15, James Lenihan, “No. 29. [Report on Indian Affairs in Fraser Superintendency, British Columbia.]”, in Annual Report of the Department of the Interior for the Year Ended 30th June...
   • Anyway, I lie here and imagine grandfather celebrating a heavenly potlache – (heaven is the only place he'll ever celebrate it, for it's long since been forbidden by the government here on earth) – and the great Christian gates are opening for him now, and behind him the charred remains of his pipe...1971, Gwendolyn MacEwen, “House of the Whale”, in David Helwig, Tom Marshall, editors, Fourteen Stories High, Ottawa, Ont.: Oberon Press, →ISBN, pages 26–27; republished in Meaghan Strimas, editor...