(noun) a ceremonial feast of the American Indians of the northwest coast marked by the host's lavish distribution of gifts or sometimes destruction of property to demonstrate wealth and generosity with the expectation of eventual reciprocation / (noun) a social event or celebration / (verb) to give (as a gift) especially with the expectation of a gift in return / (verb) to hold or give a potlatch for (as a tribe or group) / (verb) to hold or give a potlatch
What anthropologists refer to as the 'potlach' in non-capitalist societies, for example, confers prestige on those who give away, renounce or in some instances even outright destroy, through elaborate ceremonies, the material possessions they have accumulated