pemmican

noun

pem·mi·can ˈpe-mi-kən

variants or less commonly pemican

: a high-protein, high-calorie, spoilage-resistant food originally used and traded by North American Indigenous peoples and consisting typically of dried meat (such as bison) pounded fine and mixed with melted fat and sometimes other ingredients (such as berries)

also : a similar preparation (as of dried beef, flour, molasses, and suet) used for emergency rations

Examples of pemmican in a Sentence

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

People used to rely on food that could last, like pemmican and hardtack, Spam and Twinkies. — Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2017 There was food, too, including a hunk of unappetizing pemmican. — John Kelly, Washington Post, 12 May 2018 Ancient Incas utilized meat dehydration as far back as the 1500s, and indigenous North Americans shared a version of jerky, called pemmican, with the first European settlers. — The Editors, Field & Stream, 15 Apr. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Cree pimihka·n

First Known Use

1743, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of pemmican was in 1743

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Style

“Pemmican.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pemmican. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

pemmican

noun

pem·mi·can ˈpem-i-kən

: dried lean meat pounded fine and mixed with melted fat

pemmican

noun

Examples of pemmican in a Sentence

Word History

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