Cowry

Cowry
Cowrie Cow"rie Cowry Cow"ry(kou"r[y^]), n.; pl. {Cowries} (-r[i^]z). [Hind. kaur[imac].] (Zo["o]l.) A marine shell of the genus {Cypr[ae]a}. [1913 Webster]

Note: There are numerous species, many of them ornamental. Formerly {Cypr[ae]a 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. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cowry — Not to be confused with kauri. A print from 1845 shows cowry shells being used as money by an Arab trader. Cowry, also sometimes spelled cowrie, plural cowries, is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod… …   Wikipedia

  • cowry — noun a) Any of the marine molluscs of the genus Cypraea. b) The money cowry, Cypraea moneta …   Wiktionary

  • cowry —   n. small sea shell used as money in E Indies.    ♦ cowry bird, Indian weaver bird …   Dictionary of difficult words

  • Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin — Forces Cauris pour un Bénin Emergent Leader Yayi Boni Chairman Janvier Yahouédéou Secretary General Timothée Zannou Ideolog …   Wikipedia

  • cowry — noun see cowrie …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Cowry — Kaurischnecken Neobernaya spadicea Systematik Klasse: Schnecken (Gastropoda) Überordnung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • cowry — /kow ree/, n., pl. cowries. cowrie. * * * …   Universalium

  • cowry — n. type of sea snail …   English contemporary dictionary

  • cowry — cow·ry …   English syllables

  • cowry — /ˈkaʊri / (say kowree) noun (plural cowries) 1. the shell of any of the marine gastropods constituting the genus Cypraea, as that of C. moneta, a small shell with a fine gloss, formerly used as money in certain parts of Asia, Africa, and the… …  

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