Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Cowrie \Cow"rie\ Cowry \Cow"ry\(kou"r[y^]), n.; pl. {Cowries}
   (-r[i^]z). [Hind. kaur[imac].] (Zo["o]l.)
   A marine shell of the genus {Cypr[ae]a}.

   Note: There are numerous species, many of them ornamental.
         Formerly {C. moneta} and several other species were
         largely used as money in Africa and some other
         countries, and they are still so used to some extent.
         The value is always trifling, and varies at different
         places.