wampum
/ˈwɒmpəm/
"wampum" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“wampum” is an uncommon English word, ranked #84,893 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #84,893
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - 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 inc...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | wampum |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwɒmpəm/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #84,893 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “wampum” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for wampum is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈwɒmpəm/. Corpus data places it at rank #84,893 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for wampum, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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 si… The correct English form is wampum, spelled W-A-M-P-U-M.
Definition
- 1Small 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.
- 2Money.
- 3Ellipsis of wampum snake (“the common kingsnake or eastern kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula)”).
Etymology
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. Cognates Penobscot wάpαpəyak (singular wάpαpi) Unami òpapiàk (singular òpapi)
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “wampum”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-A-M-P-U-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwɒmpəm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.