wampum
wam·pum/ˈwɑmpəm/noun
wampum is spelled W-A-M-P-U-M: 6 letters and 2 syllables (wam·pum). It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, wampum means “Small cylindrical beads made from polished shells (especially white ones) which have been strung together, formerly used by Native American peoples…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of wampum is wampums.
How many letters and syllables are in wampum?
| Letters | 6: W-A-M-P-U-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: wam·pum |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 84,254th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is wampum?
Wampum appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce wampum?
- UK /ˈwɒmpəm/
- US /ˈwɑmpəm/
Wampum has 2 syllables, split wam·pum in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-wampum.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of wampum
- wampums plural
- wompam
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wampum mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
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.
- 2
slangMoney.
- 3
obsoleteEllipsis of wampum snake (“the common kingsnake or eastern kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula)”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wampum in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense small cylindrical beads made from polished shells (especially white ones) which :
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Wampum |
| Portuguese | wampum |
| Spanish | wampum, chaquira |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does wampum come from?
Clipping of wampumpeag (“wampum”), probably borrowed from Massachusett wampompeage (“string of white beads used as money”). Compare peag (“string of white beads used as money”), also a clipping of wampumpeag. Noun sense 3 (“common kingsnake”) is from the similarity of the snake’s appearance to a string of wampum.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).