Inca

[ ing-kuh ]

noun

1. a member of any of the dominant groups of South American Indian peoples who established an empire in Peru prior to the Spanish conquest.
2. a ruler or member of the royal family in the Incan empire.

Inca

/ ˈɪŋkə /

noun

1. a member of a South American Indian people whose great empire centred on Peru lasted from about 1100 ad to the Spanish conquest in the early 1530s and is famed for its complex culture
2. the ruler or king of this empire or any member of his family
3. the language of the Incas See also Quechua

Derived Forms

• ˈIncan, adjective

Other Words From

• In·ca·ic [ing-, key, -ik, in-], adjective
• Incan noun adjective
• pseudo-Incan adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Inca¹

1585–95; < Spanish < Quechua inka ruler of the Inca state

Word History and Origins

Origin of Inca¹

C16: from Spanish, from Quechua inka king

Example Sentences

“We see evidence for this all over the world,” she said, including in Viking and Inca cultures.

From New York Times

The European Space Agency reported a surprising finding in a region of Mars known as Inca City, in which dark shapes resembling spiders were discovered by the agency's Mars Express orbiting satellite.

From Salon

This winter, he and Murphy went to Peru and toured Machu Picchu, the 15th-century Inca citadel perched on an 8,000-foot-high mountain ridge.

From Los Angeles Times

In the 19th Century, Europeans realised what the Inca had known long before.

From BBC

The practice had been abandoned even before the rise of Inca civilization in the 13th century.

From Salon