cowrien.
/ˈkaʊəri/ 1. The porcelain-like shell of a small gastropod, Cypræa moneta, found abundantly in the Indian Ocean, and used as money in some parts of Africa and Southern Asia; also the animal itself.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > other mediums of exchange > [noun] > shells
shell1600
cowrie1662
porcelainc1665
cowrie shell1817
bouge1875
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. J. Albert de Mandelslo in Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors (1669) i. 68 They [of Guzuratta] also make use of..certain Shells, which they call Kaurets.
1678 J. Phillips tr. J.-B. Tavernier Indian Trav. i. ii. 22 in tr. J.-B. Tavernier Six Voy. Their other small Money are the little Shells which they call Cori.
1698 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 20 273 The small Shells, called Cowries, which pass for Money in Bengale and other places.
1723 tr. F. C. Weber Present State Russia I. 336 White Shells, commonly called Gowries or Blackamores Teeth.
1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies I. xxviii. 347 Their Trade is chiefly from a small Shell-fish called Courie.
1816 Mrs. Sherwood Ayah & Lady i. 9 She wanted a few cowries to buy khauna.
2. gen. Any gastropod (or its shell) of the genus Cypræa or family Cypræidæ, characterized by their oval shape, undeveloped spire, and narow aperture as long as the shell; e.g. Cypræa Europæa, the common cowrie of the British coast.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > superorder Branchifera > order Prosobranchiata > section Siphonostomata > family Cypraeidae > member of (cowrie)
Venus-shell1589
Venus-winkle1601
wart-gowry?1711
nipple cowry1713
smallpox1759
cowrie1777
serpent's skull1795
Arabian cowrie1804
mouse1815
sea-louse1815
serpent's head1815
wasp1815
niggerhead1895
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > superorder Branchifera > order Prosobranchiata > section Siphonostomata > family Cypraeidae > member of
porcelain1601
porcelain shell1601
tiger-shell1753
cowrie1777
tiger-cowrie1839
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > superorder Branchifera > order Prosobranchiata > section Siphonostomata > family Cypraeidae > shell of cowrie
argus-shell1750
cowrie1777
nutmeg cowrie1815
cowrie shell1817
money cowrie1826
1777 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (ed. 4, quarto) IV. vi. 115 Cypræa. Gowrie..this genus is called Cypræa, and Veneria, from its being peculiarly dedicated to Venus.
1857 J. G. Wood Common Objects Sea Shore ii. 22 The little shell..is one of the cowries.
1884 Miss North Lett. from Seychelles in Pall Mall Gaz. 21 Jan. A lovely cowrie two inches long, like mottled tortoise-shell.
Compounds
cowrie shell n. = sense 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > other mediums of exchange > [noun] > shells
shell1600
cowrie1662
porcelainc1665
cowrie shell1817
bouge1875
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > superorder Branchifera > order Prosobranchiata > section Siphonostomata > family Cypraeidae > shell of cowrie
argus-shell1750
cowrie1777
nutmeg cowrie1815
cowrie shell1817
money cowrie1826
1817 H. T. Colebrooke tr. Bhāskara Āchārya in Algebra 1 Twice ten cowry shells are a cáciní.
1875 W. S. Jevons Money (1878) 24 Cowry shells..have long been used in the East Indies as small money.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.1662