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Cowrie - 5 dictionary results
cow⋅rie
[kou-ree] 
–noun
| 1. | the highly polished, usually brightly colored shell of a marine gastropod of the genus Cypraea, as that of C. moneta (money cowrie), used as money in certain parts of Asia and Africa, or that of C. tigris, used for ornament. |
| 2. | the gastropod itself. |
Origin:
1655–65; < Hindi kaurī
1655–65; < Hindi kaurī
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To Cowrie
| cow·rie or cow·ry (kou'rē) n. pl. cow·ries Any of various tropical marine gastropods of the family Cypraeidae, having glossy, often brightly marked shells, some of which are used as currency in the South Pacific and Africa. [Hindi kauṛī, from Sanskrit kapardikā, diminutive of kapardaḥ, shell, of Dravidian origin.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cowrie
Cow"rie\ (-r[y^]), n. (Bot.) Same as Kauri.Cowrie
Cow"rie\ Cowry \Cow"ry\(kou"r[y^]), n.; pl. Cowries (-r[i^]z). [Hind. kaur[imac].] (Zo["o]l.) A marine shell of the genus Cypr[ae]a. Note: There are numerous species, many of them ornamental. Formerly C. moneta and several other species were largely used as money in Africa and some other countries, and they are still so used to some extent. The value is always trifling, and varies at different places.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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cowrie
1662, from Hindi and Urdu kauri, from Mahrati kavadi, from Skt. kaparda, perhaps related to Tamil kotu "shell."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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