(Canada, US, also, figuratively) 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.
First, the Indian himself is to be sought out; then the horse is to be tried; next the price is to be discussed, then the mode of payment, and finally the potlatch: each and all are matters of grave consideration and delay, during which …
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(Canada, US, chiefly, Alaska) A communal meal to which guests bring dishes to share; a potluck.
The end of all this scraping and hoarding is to give away the property again at some potlatch, at which in a few hours the labour of years will be dissipated. The feasts are often given by the chief men of small tribes as a sort of peace…
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(transitive) To give; especially, to give as a gift during a potlatch ceremony.
He was a Chilkaht chief, and it being New Year's day, he had been to General Davis's house and "potlatched" (treated) to a bottle of whiskey.
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