1. Small cylindrical beads made from polished shells and fashioned into strings or belts; used by certain Native American peoples as jewelry or currency
   "The museum displayed a necklace made of authentic wampum";
   - peag [archaic], wampumpeag
    
2. [N. Amer, informal] The most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
   "we tried to collect the wampum he owed us";
   - money, coin [US, informal], boodle [informal], bread [informal], cabbage [US, informal], clams [US, informal], dinero [N. Amer, informal], dough [informal], gelt [informal], kale [US, informal], lettuce [US, informal], lolly [Brit, informal], lucre [informal], loot [informal], moolah [N. Amer, informal], pelf [archaic, informal], scratch [informal], shekels [informal], simoleons [US, informal], sugar [informal], wonga [Brit, informal], moola [N. Amer, informal], brass [Brit, informal], dibs [archaic, informal], spondulix [Brit, informal], spondulicks [Brit, informal], mazuma [US, informal], dosh [Brit, informal]

Derived forms: wampums

Type of: beads, medium of exchange, monetary system, string of beads

Part of: money supply

Encyclopedia: Wampum, Pennsylvania