Pima

[ pee-muh ]

noun

, plural Pi·mas, (especially collectively) Pi·ma

1. a member of an Indigenous people of southern Arizona and northern Mexico.
2. the Uto-Aztecan language of the Pima, closely related to Tohono O'odham.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Pima or their language.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Pima¹

First recorded in 1810–15; from Spanish (Mexico, southwestern United States), earlier Pimahitos, from 16th-century Pima (Spanish spelling) pimahaitu “nothing”

Example Sentences

Since 2000, at least 3,977 undocumented migrants have died attempting to cross the southern Arizona desert, according to the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner.

From Los Angeles Times

“People just weren’t crossing from Mexico through Arizona until it became more difficult to cross in major populated areas,” Dr. Greg Hess, Chief Medical Officer for Pima County, Arizona, explains.

From Salon

As the conservation science manager in Pima County at the Conservation Lands and Resources department, Ian Murray regularly interacts with the Santa Cruz.

From Salon

Last year in Pima County, home to Arizona’s second-most populous city of Tucson, there were 176 heat-related deaths and another 51 such deaths in the five additional rural counties that the medical examiner handles.

From Seattle Times

But Pima County prosecutor Mark Hotchkiss said evidence showed Dervish planned Meixner’s killing and bought a 9 mm handgun a month before using it in the shooting.

From Seattle Times