Adjacent Words

tepee definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a Native American tent; usually of conical shape [syn: tepee, tipi, teepee]

Merriam Webster's

or teepee; also tipi noun Etymology: Dakota t^hípi, from t^hi- to dwell Date: 1743 a conical tent usually consisting of skins and used especially by American Indians of the Great Plains

Britannica Concise

Tall tent dwelling used by the Plains Indians. It was suited to a nomadic life of buffalo hunting, being easily folded and dragged by a horse. It was made by stretching dressed and fitted buffalo skins over a skeleton of 20-30 wooden poles, all slanted in toward a central point and tied together near the top. A flap at the top allowed smoke to escape, and a flap at the bottom served as a doorway. The tepee became a popular symbol of all Indians, although the wigwam, wickiup, hogan, igloo, and longhouse were at least as important.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (also teepee) a N. American Indian's conical tent, made of skins, cloth, or canvas on a frame of poles. Etymology: Sioux or Dakota Indian tipi

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wigwam Wig"wam, n. [From the Algonquin or Massachusetts Indian word w[=e]k, ``his house,'' or ``dwelling place;'' with possessive and locative affixes, w[=e]-kou-om-ut, ``in his (or their) house,'' contracted by the English to weekwam, and wigwam.] An Indian cabin or hut, usually of a conical form, and made of a framework of poles covered with hides, bark, or mats; -- called also tepee. [Sometimes written also weekwam.] Very spacious was the wigwam, Made of deerskin dressed and whitened, With the gods of the Dacotahs Drawn and painted on its curtains. --Longfellow. Note: ``The wigwam, or Indian house, of a circular or oval shape, was made of bark or mats laid over a framework of branches of trees stuck in the ground in such a manner as to converge at the top, where was a central aperture for the escape of smoke from the fire beneath. The better sort had also a lining of mats. For entrance and egress, two low openings were left on opposite sides, one or the other of which was closed with bark or mats, according to the direction of the wind.'' --Palfrey.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tepee Tep*ee", n. An Indian wigwam or tent.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

also teepee(tepees) A tepee is a round tent. Tepees were first made by Native American peoples from animal skins or the outer covering of trees. = wigwam N-COUNT