Zapotec

[ zap-uh-tek, zah-puh-; Spanish sah-paw-tek ]

noun

, plural Za·po·tecs, (especially collectively) Za·po·tec

1. a member of an American Indian people living in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
2. the Oto-Manguean language of the Zapotecs, consisting of a number of highly divergent dialects.

adjective

1. Archaeology. of or relating to a Mesoamerican Indian civilization of the Oaxaca region of Mexico c600 b.c. to a.d. 1000, characterized by a bar-and-dot system of enumeration, a calendar of Mayan derivation, ball courts, and underground frescoed tombs.

Zapotec

/ ˈzɑːpəˌtɛk /

noun

1. AlsoZapotecanˌzæpəʊˈtɛkənˌzɑː- -tecs-tec any member of a large tribe of central American Indians inhabiting S Mexico, esp the Mexican state of Oaxaca
2. the group of languages spoken by this people

adjective

1. AlsoZapotecan of or relating to this people or their language

Word History and Origins

Origin of Zapotec¹

< Mexican Spanish zapoteco < Nahuatl tzapotēcah, plural of tzapotēcatl person from Tzapotlān ( tzapo ( tl ) sapodilla + -tēcatl suffix of personal nouns, -tlān locative suffix)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Zapotec¹

from Spanish Zapoteca, from Nahuatl Tzapoteca, literally: people of the land of the sapodillas, from tzapotl sapodilla

Example Sentences

When looking through the vast selection, visitors can find stories from almost every Latin American country and even a few in Indigenous languages like Nahuatl and Zapotec.

From Los Angeles Times

That vibrant red, a hue prized in Zapotec culture for 2,000 years, is derived from the cochineal, a tiny insect that thrives on nopal cactus.

From Los Angeles Times

Vasquez, who is Zapotec, said he worries about the future of the Indigenous communities as the mezcal market continues to reshape rural Oaxaca and global warming exacerbates conditions.

From Los Angeles Times

The muxe — Indigenous Zapotec people in Mexico — view themselves as neither man nor woman.

From Los Angeles Times

Many Mesoamerican cultures, including the Zapotec civilization that dominated this region for centuries, were more accepting of gender diversity than the Spanish who first arrived in the 16th century, researchers say.

From Los Angeles Times