potlatch

Meanings

Noun

• A ceremony amongst certain indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest in which gifts are bestowed upon guests and personal property is destroyed in a show of generosity and wealth.
• A communal meal to which guests bring dishes to share; a potluck.

Verb

• To give; especially, to give as a gift during a potlatch ceremony.
• To carry out or take part in a potlatch ceremony.

Origin

• The noun is borrowed from Chinook Jargon potlatch, pátlač, from Nootka Jargon pa'chatle, pa'chēētle, pah-chilt (“to give, give me”), from Nootka p̕ačiƛ.
• Sense 1 of the verb (“to give; especially, to give a a gift during a potlatch ceremony”) is borrowed from Chinook Jargon potlatch, pátlač (see above); sense 2 (“to carry out or take part in a potlatch ceremony”) is derived from the noun.