Also 7 wompam, 7–8 wampam, wampom, 8 wompom. [See WAMPUMPEAG. Cf. F. wampoum (Littré Suppl.).]
1. Cylindrical beads made from the ends of shells rubbed down, polished, and threaded on strings, which were often combined to form bracelets, belts, collars, etc. See PEAG, ROANOKE, SEAWAN.
a. Serving as currency for the N. Amer. Indians both among themselves and in dealings with Europeans; also, in early colonial times, between Europeans for the payment of small amounts. See quot. 1643, and further quots. under WAMPUMPEAG.
1636. Winthrop, New-Eng. (1825), I. 193. The trade of beaver and wampom was to be farmed, and all others restrained from trading.
1643. R. Williams, Key Lang. Amer., xxiv. 144. Their owne [money] is of two sorts: one white, which they make of the stem or stocke of the Periwinkle,… and of this sort six of their small Beads … are currant with the English for a peny. The second is black, inclining to blew, which is made of the shell of a fish, which some English call Hens, Poquauhock, and of this sort three make an English peny. Ibid., 147. Their white [money] they call Wompam (which signifies white), their black suckauhock (sucki signifying blacke).
1648. T. Shepard, Clear Sun-shine of Gosp., 2. They … would … take away … your Wampam from you.
1753. S. Hopkins, Hist. Mem. Housatunnuk Indians (1911), 18, note. A Wompum is a small cylinder of about one-third of an inch long…. A number of these, strung upon small threads and knit together in the form of a belt, are called a Belt of Wompum.
1786. Phil. Trans., LXXVI. 234. It is incumbent on the survivor to replace him, by presenting to his family either a scalp, a prisoner, or a belt consisting of some thousands of wampum.
1841–4. Emerson, Ess., Poet, Wks. (Bohn), I. 161. Life, which can dwarf any and every circumstance, and to which the belt of wampum, and the commerce of America, are alike.
1876. Bancroft, Hist. U.S., II. xxvii. 183. The farmers and seamen of Massachusetts nourished its college with coin and strings of wampum, and in every village built the free school.
b. Worn as ornamental garments or jewellery.
1716. B. Church, Philip’s War (1829), 141. He pulled out Philip’s belt, curiously wrought with wompom, being nine inches broad, wrought with black and white wompom, in various figures, and flowers and pictures of many birds and beasts.
1773. Smollett, Humphry Cl., 13 July (1815), 234. Her arms and legs were adorned with bracelets of wampum.
1778. J. Carver, Trav. N. Amer., xi. 362. These belts are made of shells found on the coasts of New England and Virginia, which are sawed out into beads of an oblong form…. Being strung on leather strings, and several of them sewed neatly together,… with fine sinewy threads, they then compose the same, what is termed a Belt of Wampum.
1855. Longf., Hiaw., ix. 188. The shafts of Hiawatha Harmless hit the shirt of wampum.
c. Serving (as a substitute for writing) a mnemonic or symbolic purpose according to the arrangement of the beads, and so used in intertribal messages, treaty-records, etc. among the N. Amer. Indians.
1751. C. Gist, Jrnls. (1893), 43. The Speaker with four Strings of Wampum in his Hand stood up.
1761. Brit. Mag., II. 480. This declaration they confirmed with belts of wampum.
1772. Johnson, N. Amer. Indians, in Phil. Trans., LXIII. 145. This chief of a whole nation has the custody of the belts of wampum, &c. which are as records of public transactions.
1823. [G. Proctor], Lucubrations H. Ravelin, 194. His conversation is like the wampum belt of the Indian to my military reminiscences. Ibid., 354. Holding in his [Tecumthé’s] hands a belt of wampum, or beads, which, by their colours and arrangement, form the Indian record for past events.
1865. Lubbock, Preh. Times, 227. The art of picture-writing … was supplemented among the North American Indians by the ‘wampum.’
† 2. Conch., Used as the name of a particular kind of shell. Obs.
1815. S. Brookes, Introd. Conchol., 157. Wampum, Venus mercenaria.
3. transf. (jocular). a. (After 1 a) Money. b. (after 1 b) Wampum and warpaint, evening dress.
a. 1897. Outing, XXX. 367/2. I laid some of their own miserable, smelly, garlicky, paper-wampum upon their official … desk, saying, as I did this: ‘You can keep the change.’
b. 1890. ‘R. Boldrewood,’ Col. Reformer, xv. He arrayed himself in the wampum and warpaint proper for such engagements as manufactured by Mr. Poole, of Saville Row.
4. Short for wampum-snake (see 5). Striped wampum, the N. American snake Abastor erythrogrammus (Cent. Dict.).
5. attrib. and Comb., as wampun-beads, belt, collar, record; also wampum-snake, a name applied to certain colubrids of the southern U.S.; † (a) a blue-and-white snake (obs.); (b) the red-bellied snake, Farancia abacura (Cent. Dict.); wampum-wise adv., (threaded) after the manner of wampum.
1766. C. Beatty, Tour (1768), 88. A string of *wampum beads.
1910. A. J. Chamberlain, in Encycl. Brit., XIV. 470/1. European-made wampum-beads affected native art in the 17th century.
1761. Foote, Liar, I. Wks. 1799, I. 286. He shall present you with the *wampum belt, and a scalping knife.
1831. Carlyle, Sartor Res., I. v. Sheepskin cloaks and wampum belts.
1865. Parkman, Champlain (1875), 178. Copper bracelets and *wampum collars, lynx-skins.
1895. Hoffman, Begin. Writing, 24. *Wampum records are purely mnemonic.
1736. Mortimer, Nat. Hist. Carolina, in Phil. Trans., XXXIX. 258. The *Wampam Snake; so called from the Resemblance it hath in its Colours to the Wampam, or Indian Money, made of Pieces of Shells blue and white, strung together.
1802. Shaw, Gen. Zool., III. 463. Wampum Snake. Coluber Fasciatus.
1790. Proc. African Assoc., 36. The beads are worked *wampum-wise.
