Zuni

[ zoo-nee ]

noun

, plural Zu·nis, (especially collectively) Zu·ni

1. a member of a group of North American Indians inhabiting the largest of the Indian pueblos, in western New Mexico.
2. the language of the Zuni.

Zuñi

/ ˈsuː-; ˈzuːnjiː /

noun

1. -ñis-ñi a member of a North American Indian people of W New Mexico
2. the language of this people, a member of the Penutian phylum of languages

Derived Forms

• ˈZuñian, adjectivenoun

Other Words From

• Zuni·an Zuñi·an adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Zuni¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1830–35; earlier Zuñi, from Spanish (southwestern United States), from Acoma Keresan sɨ̂·ni (pronounced sθɨ̂·nyi ) or a cognate

Example Sentences

While giving back local control was Trump’s stated rationale, tribes in the area, like the Diné, Ute, Hopi, and Zuni, had been working for years to protect the two iconic and culturally significant sites.

From Salon

There’s the one in Gallup, N.M., perpetually packed with buses from the nearby Navajo and Zuni nations.

From Los Angeles Times

He joined a team digging for dinosaur fossils in the Zuni Basin in New Mexico.

From NewsForKids.net

Zuni farmers in the southwestern United States made it through long stretches of extremely low rainfall between A.D.

From Salon

But he encourages them to consider that, after millennia spent living in the same environment, Zuni have an organic understanding of complex ecosystems that scientists might still be catching up on.

From Los Angeles Times