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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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


adjective

  1. AlsoZapotecan of or relating to this people or their language
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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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)
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Word History and Origins

Origin of Zapotec1

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

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.

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

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

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

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