calumet

American  

[kal-yuh-met, kal-yuh-met] / ˈkæl yəˌmɛt, ˌkæl yəˈmɛt /

noun

1. a long-stemmed, ornamented tobacco pipe used by North American Indians on ceremonial occasions, especially in token of peace.

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calumet British  

/ ˈkæljʊˌmɛt /

noun

1. a less common name for peace pipe

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Etymology

Origin of calumet

First recorded in 1710–20; from French, originally dialect (Norman, Picard): “pipe stem,” a by-form of French chalumeau “reed flute, stem of a reed,” with suffix altered to -et; chalumeau, -et

Example Sentences

One of the prairie schooners is a genuine survivor of the Colorado gold rush, the calumet used at the powwow is supposed to have been sucked by Sitting Bull himself.

From Time Magazine Archive

"I do not smoke," added Big Chief Nikita, "but really, I would be happy to light the calumet together with the leaders of all powers."

From Time Magazine Archive

The tribes of the west, of late bristling in defiance, and hot for fight, had craved forgiveness, and proffered the calumet.

From The Conspiracy of Pontiac and the Indian War after the Conquest of Canada by Parkman, Francis

There is a calumet for peace and one for war, distinguished only by the color of the feathers with which they are adorned, red being the sign of war.

From Explorers and Travellers by Greely, Adolphus W.

The drinking of mat� among the gauchos, and among all Argentines for that matter, is like the smoking of the calumet among North American Indians.

From The Gold Diggings of Cape Horn A Study of Life in Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia by Spears, John R.