This week's theme
Words borrowed from Native American languages

This week's words
sachem
wampum
high-muck-a-muck
manitou
powwow

On your calendar
Get A.Word.A.Day on your calendar

---

A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(WOM-puhm)

MEANING:

noun:
1. Beads made from shells, strung in strands, belts, etc. used for ceremonial purposes, jewelry, and money.
2. Money.

ETYMOLOGY:

Short for Massachusett wampompeag, from wampan (white) + api (string) + -ag, plural suffix.

USAGE:

"Seems he isn't sure he wants to be part of the Braves' new world unless the front office comes across with more wampum."
Crybabies in Midseason Form; Denver Post; Mar 4, 1992.

"Or, as GE Chairman Jack Welch said in a talk reported earlier this year by USA Today, 'We've got to get more wampum. That means we've got to have more dot.coms.'"
Allan Sloan; Companies Creating New Coin In Push to Enter the Internet Realm; Washington Post; Jul 20, 1999.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: