Huastec

[ wahs-tek ]

noun

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

1. a member of an Indigenous people of Mexico.
2. the Mayan language of the Huastec.

adjective

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

Other Words From

• Haus·tec·an adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Huastec¹

First recorded in 1835–45; from Mexican Spanish huasteco from Nahuatl huāxtēcatl “person from Huāxtlān, ” equivalent to huāx(in), a tropical tree that produces edible pods + -tlān locative suffix + -tēcatl suffix of ethnic names

Example Sentences

“This is a very important piece,” said archaeologist Sara Ladron de Guevara, a scholar of Mexico’s Huastec culture, pointing in particular to the cross-shaped open mouth.

From Reuters

It is believed that the sculpture depicts a leading female member of the Huastec people at the time of its creation.

From BBC

Some internet sleuthing in the days that followed persuaded Cabrera that the statue, carved with elaborate ornaments and a flowing feather headdress, resembled the Huastec goddess of lust.

From Reuters

For centuries, thriving Huastec population centers dotted Mexico’s steamy southeastern coast, many clustered around rivers that flow into the Gulf of Mexico, stretching across six modern-day Mexican states including Veracruz, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosi.

From Reuters

Sara Ladron de Guevara, dean of Veracruz University and herself an archaeologist, points to an appreciation of Huastec sculpture outside Mexico.

From Reuters