Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
†GAKIE, GAWKIE, n. A shell of the genus Venus: “Venus mercenaria” (Jam.); the horse-cockle, Venus islandica (Lth. 1825 Jam., gawkie).Fif. 1710 R. Sibbald Fif. and Knr. (1803) 135:
Gakies . . . It is of this shell that the money of the American Indians, called Wampum, is made.