POTLATCH

potlatch

(noun) a ceremonial feast held by some Indians of the northwestern coast of North America (as in celebrating a marriage or a new accession) in which the host gives gifts to tribesmen and others to display his superior wealth (sometimes, formerly, to his own impoverishment)

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

potlatch (usually uncountable, plural potlatches)

(Canada, US, also, figuratively) A ceremony amongst certain indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest in which gifts are bestowed upon guests and personal property is destroyed in a show of generosity and wealth.

(US, chiefly, Alaska) A communal meal to which guests bring dishes to share; a potluck.

Synonym: fuddle (Britain, dialectal)

Verb

potlatch (third-person singular simple present potlatches, present participle potlatching, simple past and past participle potlatched)

(transitive) To give; especially, to give as a gift during a potlatch ceremony.

(intransitive) To carry out or take part in a potlatch ceremony.

Source: Wiktionary

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Pot"latch`, n. [Chinook potlatch, pahtlatch, fr. Nootka pahchilt, pachalt, a gift.]

1. Among the Kwakiutl, Chimmesyan, and other Indians of the northwestern coast of North America, a ceremonial distribution by a man of gifts to his own and neighboring tribesmen, often, formerly, to his own impoverishment. Feasting, dancing, and public ceremonies accompany it.

2. Hence, a feast given to a large number of persons, often accompanied by gifts. [Colloq., Northwestern America]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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