Mixtec

[ mees-tek ]

noun

, plural Mix·tecs, (especially collectively) Mix·tec

1. a member of an Indigenous people of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Puebla, Mexico.
2. the Oto-Manguean language of the Mixtecs, consisting of a number of highly divergent dialects.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Mixtec or their language

Mixtec

/ ˈmiːstɛk /

noun

1. -tecs-tec a member of an American Indian people of Mexico
2. the language of this people

Derived Forms

• Mixˈtecan, adjectivenoun

Other Words From

• Mix·tec·an [mees-, tek, -, uh, n], adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Mixtec¹

First recorded in 1840–50; from Mexican Spanish mixteco, from Nahuatl mixtēcah, plural of mixtēcatl “person from Mixtlān ” ( mix ( tli ) “cloud” + -tlān locative suffix, -tēcatl suffix of personal nouns)

Example Sentences

Mixtec filmmaker Ángeles Cruz returns — after her acclaimed drama “Nudo Mixteco” — with a radiant portrait of childhood laced with delicate touches of magical realism.

From Los Angeles Times

The only issue is that from the hereafter dad only speaks to her in Mixtec, the native language of their community, which she never learned.

From Los Angeles Times

Clinics are far from where they live, she said, and many don’t speak English or Spanish — for instance, they may speak Indigenous languages such as Mixtec, which is common in parts of Mexico.

From Salon

Her nomination comes four years after Yalitza Aparicio, who is of indigenous Mixtec descent, was nominated in the same category for her role in Alfonso Cuarón’s 2018 film “Roma.”

From Salon

The Indigenous Mixtec languages, for example, have at least 11 different words for “rain.”

From Los Angeles Times