From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcowriecow‧rie /ˈkaʊri/ noun [countable] HBa small shiny shell that was used in the past as money in parts of Africa and Asia
Examples from the Corpus
cowrie• Clenched teeth of cowrie shells draped from her noble neck.• Because of their symbolic potency cowrie shells were often copied in precious metals.• The cowrie concentrates its secretion along the sides of the mantle, forming a shell like a loosely clenched fist.Origin cowrie (1600-1700) Hindi kauri 