American English Dictionary
Definition of “powwow”
Word Frequency
powwow (ˈpaʊˌwaʊ
)
Definitions
(US)noun
- a North American Indian medicine man or priest
- among North American Indians, a ceremony to conjure the cure of disease, success in war, etc., marked by feasting, dancing, etc.
- a conference of or with North American Indians
- (informal) any conference or gathering
intransitive verb
- to hold a powwow
- (informal) to confer
Word Origin
< Narragansett & Massachusett powwaw, priest, orig., prob. “he dreams”Example Sentences Including 'powwow'
No, the hero of my tale, the mad light, the hope, is the second woman I see dancing at the winter powwow.The Bingo Palace (1994)
Yazzie attended his first powwow at the age of 4 in Tama, his home village in Iowa.Smithsonian (2002)
Many Native Americans also say the lyric "Hey ya "sounds similar to chants in powwow songs.Seattle Times (2004)
Yesterday, the president didn't even speak to Powell after the secretary of state's crucial powwow with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.New York Post (2002)
Every year my father would call a family powwow (can you believe this?The Lost Continent (Travels in Small Town America) (1990)
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