Peag
/piːɡ/noun
A shell bead or string of shell beads formerly used by some Indigenous peoples of northeastern North America as a medium of exchange and ornament.
Did you know?Peag is generally treated as a shortened colonial form related to Algonquian wampumpeag, the shell-bead material Europeans commonly called wampum.
Etymological Timeline
Before European contact
Algonquian
*wa·p-
“A reconstructed Algonquian root associated with whiteness, relevant to the white-shell beads later called wampum.”
17th Century
Massachusett
wampumpeag
“White shell beads, especially beads made from shell and used for ornament, diplomacy, and exchange.”
17th Century
Narragansett
peage
“A term recorded by English colonists for shell beads or bead money.”
17th Century
Colonial English
peag
“A shortened English form referring to shell beads used in Indigenous trade.”
Modern English
English
peag
“An archaic or historical term for a shell bead or bead currency associated with northeastern Indigenous peoples.”
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