wampum

Noun

wampum (countable and uncountable, plural wampums or wampum)

1. (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; […]1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Whiteness of the Whale”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 208
   • From his lodge went Hiawatha, / Dressed for travel, armed for hunting; / Dressed in deer-skin shirt and leggings, / Richly wrought with quills and wampum; / On his head his eagle-feathers, / Round his waist his belt of wampum, […]1855 November 10, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Hiawatha and Mudjekeewis”, in The Song of Hiawatha, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 51

   Synonyms:

   hiaqua, peag, porcelain, seawan, seawant

2. (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...1955, J[ames] P[atrick] Donleavy, chapter 17, in The Ginger Man, London: Corgi Books, Transworld Publishers, published 1963, page 192
   • [M]ore and more people in the folk world suddenly discovered there was more than a little wampum to be made by discovering a trace of Indian blood in their past and donning the traditional headband.1965 December, Phil Ochs, “That was the Year that Weren’t”, in Cavalier, New York, N.Y.: DuGent Publishing Corporation, →OCLC; republished in David Cohen, editor, I’m Gonna Say It Now: The Writings...

   Synonyms:

   ackers, bees and honey, blunt, bones, brass, bread, bread and honey, Bugs Bunny, cake, cheddar