WordWeb Online

1. A ceremonial feast held by some Indians of the northwestern coast of North America (as in celebrating a marriage or a new accession) in which the host gives gifts to tribesmen and others to display his superior wealth (sometimes, formerly, to his own impoverishment)

Derived forms: potlatches

Type of: ceremonial, ceremonial occasion, ceremony, feast, fete, fête, fiesta, observance

Encyclopedia: Potlatch, Idaho