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pemican

 - 3 dictionary results

pem⋅mi⋅can

  [pem-i-kuhn]
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–noun
dried meat pounded into a powder and mixed with hot fat and dried fruits or berries, pressed into a loaf or into small cakes, originally prepared by North American Indians.
Also, pem⋅i⋅can.

Origin:
1735–45; < Cree pimihka⋅n, deriv. of pimihke⋅w he makes pemmican (mixing together the grease and other ingredients), he makes grease < Proto-Algonquian *pemihke⋅wa, equiv. to *pemy- grease + *-ehke⋅ make
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pem·mi·can also pem·i·can   (pěm'ĭ-kən)   
n.  

  1. A food prepared by Native Americans from lean dried strips of meat pounded into paste, mixed with fat and berries, and pressed into small cakes.

  2. A food made chiefly from beef, dried fruit, and suet, used as emergency rations.


[Cree pimihkaam.]
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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Word Origin & History

pemmican 
1791, from Algonquian (Cree) pimikan, from pimikew "he makes grease," from pimiy "grease, fat." Lean meat, dried, pounded and mixed with congealed fat and formed into cakes. Also used figuratively for "extremely condensed thought or matter."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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