---
title: wampum — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «wampum» in the school dictionary: Small beads made from white and purple shells, strung together or woven into belts by Native American peoples of eastern North America. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# wampum

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Small beads, European settlers, word, museum, teacher, wampum · **What happens:** make, string together, weave, use, record, tell · **To what, where:** Small beads, white shells, belts, Wampum belts, agreements, histories · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«wampum» in the school dictionary: its 4 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [wampum in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/wampum.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Small beads made from white and purple shells, strung together or woven into belts by Native American peoples of eastern North America.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wampum:m1:1
# text = Small beads made from white and purple shells, strung together or woven into belts by Native American peoples of eastern North America.
1	Small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	beads	bead	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
3	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
5	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	purple	purple	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	_
8	shells	shell	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	strung	string	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
11	together	together	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	woven	weave	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	conj	_	_
14	into	into	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	belts	belt	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	obl	_	_
16	by	by	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
17	Native	native	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
18	American	American	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	peoples	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	obl	_	_
20	of	of	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
21	eastern	eastern	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	23	amod	_	_
22	North	North	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	23	compound	_	_
23	America	America	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	19	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | participle |  | Small beads *not said here* |  | white shells |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V PP»: agent=Asset from shell=Material |
| 2 | **string together** | participle | Small beads |  |  |  |  | together *property* | vn tape-22.4 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **weave** | participle | Small beads *not said here* |  |  | belts |  | by Native American peoples of eastern North America | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme into belt=Destination |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Wampum belts were used to record agreements, tell histories and mark important promises between nations.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wampum:m2:1
# text = Wampum belts were used to record agreements, tell histories and mark important promises between nations.
1	Wampum	wampum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	belts	belt	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	record	record	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	agreements	agreement	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
9	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	conj	_	_
10	histories	history	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	mark	mark	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	conj	_	_
13	important	important	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	promises	promise	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obj	_	_
15	between	between	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	nations	nation	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | past · passive |  | Wampum belts |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: subject=Theme clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **record** | to-infinitive |  | agreements |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent agreement=Theme |
| 3 | **tell** *speech: assert* | infinitive |  | histories |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent history=Recipient |
| 4 | **mark** | infinitive |  | important promises |  | nations |  |  | vn image\_impression-25.1 «NP V NP.theme PP.destination»: agent=Agent promise=Theme between nation=Destination |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Later, European settlers also used wampum as a kind of money, so the word sometimes means shell money.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wampum:m3:1
# text = Later, European settlers also used wampum as a kind of money, so the word sometimes means shell money.
1	Later	late	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	European	European	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	settlers	settler	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
5	also	also	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	used	use	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	wampum	wampum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
8	as	as	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
14	so	so	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	_
17	sometimes	sometimes	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	18	advmod	_	_
18	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	parataxis	_	_
19	shell	shell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	compound	_	_
20	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | past | European settlers | wampum |  |  |  | as a kind of money; late *property* | vn spend\_time-104 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Agent wampum=Duration as kind=Attribute |
| 2 | **mean** | present | the word | shell money |  |  |  | sometimes *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent money=Topic |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: old slang, US — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Money in general — now rare and can sound disrespectful.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wampum:m4:1
# text = Money in general — now rare and can sound disrespectful.
1	Money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	in	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	general	general	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	—	-	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
5	now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	6	advmod	_	_
6	rare	rare	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	sound	sound	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
10	disrespectful	disrespectful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sound** | can |  |  |  |  |  | disrespectful *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The museum showed a wampum belt made of purple and white shell beads.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wampum:x1:1
# text = The museum showed a wampum belt made of purple and white shell beads.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	museum	museum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	showed	show	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	wampum	wampum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	belt	belt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	acl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
9	purple	purple	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	conj	_	_
12	shell	shell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	beads	bead	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | past | the museum | a wampum belt |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent belt=Recipient |
| 2 | **make** | participle |  | a wampum belt *not said here* |  |  |  | of purple shell beads | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Wampum belts were used to remember a treaty between two nations.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wampum:x2:1
# text = Wampum belts were used to remember a treaty between two nations.
1	Wampum	wampum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	belts	belt	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	remember	remember	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	treaty	treaty	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	between	between	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	11	nummod	_	_
11	nations	nation	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | past · passive |  | Wampum belts |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: subject=Theme clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **remember** | to-infinitive |  | a treaty |  |  |  | between two nations | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent treaty=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The beads were made from quahog clam shells.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wampum:x3:1
# text = The beads were made from quahog clam shells.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	beads	bead	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	quahog	quahog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
7	clam	clam	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	shells	shell	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past · passive |  | the beads |  | quahog clam shells |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V PP»: subject=Product from shell=Material |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our teacher said wampum was much more than money.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wampum:x4:1
# text = Our teacher said wampum was much more than money.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	wampum	wampum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	much	much	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	obj	_	_
8	than	than	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Our teacher |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | past | wampum |  |  |  |  | than money; more *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A speaker held up a string of wampum before giving an important message.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wampum:x5:1
# text = A speaker held up a string of wampum before giving an important message.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	speaker	speaker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	held	hold	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	amod	_	_
4	up	up	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	string	string	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	wampum	wampum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
9	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
10	giving	give	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	acl	_	_
11	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	important	important	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	message	message	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold up** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn support-15.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot |
| 2 | **give** | gerund | a held string of wampum *not said here* | a important message |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent message=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The pattern on the belt showed two paths side by side.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wampum:x6:1
# text = The pattern on the belt showed two paths side by side.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pattern	pattern	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	belt	belt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	showed	show	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	paths	path	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
9	side	side	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl:unmarked	_	_
10	by	by	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	side	side	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | past | the pattern on the belt | two paths |  |  |  | side by side *obl:unmarked* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent path=Recipient |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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