Cowry

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Cowrie \Cow"rie\ Cowry \Cow"ry\(kou"r[y^]), n.; pl. {Cowries}
     (-r[i^]z). [Hind. kaur[imac].] (Zool.)
     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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  cowry
       n : any of numerous tropical marine gastropods of the genus
           Cypraea having highly polished usually brightly marked
           shells [syn: {cowrie}]