roanoke

== English == === Alternative forms === rawranoke [17th c.] === Etymology === Borrowed from Powhatan rawrenock (“things rubbed smooth by hand”). === Pronunciation === (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɹoʊənoʊk/ (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɹəʊənəʊk/ === Noun === roanoke (uncountable) (US, historical) White beads of low value made from shells, formerly used for ornaments and currency by Native Americans of colonial Virginia. 1656, John Tradescant, Musaeum Tradescantianum, pages 47 and 51, different spelling as printed: Pohatan, King of Virgiania's habit all embroidered with shells, or Roanoke (p. 47); Virginian purses imbroidered with Roanoake (p. 51)