COWRIE

cowrie, cowry

(noun) any of numerous tropical marine gastropods of the genus Cypraea having highly polished usually brightly marked shells

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

cowrie (plural cowries)

A small gastropod (Cypraea moneta) common in the Indian Ocean; its shell.

(by extension) Any gastropod of the genus Cypraea; its shell.

(by extension) Any gastropod of the family Cypraeidae; its shell.

Synonyms

• (C. moneta): money cowrie

• (shell of C. moneta): shell money, wampum

Anagrams

• cowier

Source: Wiktionary

Cow"rie (-r), n. (Bot.)

Definition: Same as Kauri.

Cow"rie Cow"ry (kou"r), n.; pl. Cowries (-r. Etym: [Hind. kaur.] (Zoöl.)

Definition: A marine shell of the genus Cypræa.

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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition