Meaning

noun informal terms for money

noun small cylindrical beads made from polished shells and fashioned into strings or belts; used by certain Native American peoples as jewelry or currency

originClipping 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)

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0