powwow

See also: pow-wow, pow wow, Pow-Wow, Pow Wow, and Pow wow

English

Alternative forms

• pow wow, pow-wow
• pau wau

Etymology

From an Eastern Algonquian language, probably Massachusett pauwau (“he uses divination; he practices magic or sorcery”) or Narragansett powwáw (“sorcerer, shaman”), ultimately from Proto-Algonquian *pawe·wa (“one who dreams”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

powwow (plural powwows)

1. A ritual conducted by a Native American shaman.
2. A Native American shaman. [from 17th c.]
3. A Native American council or meeting.
4. (informal, often offensive) A short, private conference. [from 19th c.]
   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter XII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     While the powwow was going on the big woman came back again. She was consider'ble rumpled and scratched up, but there was fire in her eye.

5. (Canada, US) A large gathering during which Indigenous songs and dances are showcased for an audience, essentially a recital or concert. Often also doubles as a fundraiser, or can be held in conjunction with a non-indigenous fair or exhibition in order to attract a large crowd, as at the Calgary Stampede and K-Days.
   • 2018, Tommy Orange, There There, Harvill Secker, page 24:

     On the way out, Octavio handed me a flyer for the powwow that listed the prize money in each dance category.

6. A tradition of folk magic practiced by the Pennsylvania Dutch.

Translations

a Native American council or meeting

• Bulgarian: индиански знахар m (indianski znahar)
• Navajo: atsʼos bee alzhishí
• Ojibwe: niimi'idiwin
• Polish: rada plemienna (Indian północnoamerykańskich) f
• Swedish: please add this translation if you can

Indigenous recital or concert

• Dakota: wačhípi
• Lakota: wačhípi
• Plains Cree: ᐸᐧᑎᓯᒧ, ᒪᐢᑭᓯᒧᐃᐧᐣ

Verb

powwow (third-person singular simple present powwows, present participle powwowing, simple past and past participle powwowed)

1. (intransitive, of Native Americans) To hold a meeting; to gather together in council.
   • 2005, Glen Tucker, Tecumseh: A Vision of Glory, page 224:

     [The] Indians saw everything that happened and powwowed all night, needing more than anything else the presence of Tecumseh. The most aggressive element was the Winnebagos, who insisted on attacking.

2. (intransitive, of Native Americans and by extension other groups, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch) To conduct a ritual in which magic is used.
   • 2007, David W. Kriebel, Powwowing Among the Pennsylvania Dutch, page 10:

     Maybe no one— except possibly Leah— powwowed anymore.

3. (informal, intransitive, often offensive) To hold a private conference.
4. To practice powwow, as in definiton 6 of the noun.

Usage notes

The senses related to having "a short, private conference or meeting" are generally seen as an offensive appropriation of the cultural gathering by Indigenous Americans.