Zapotec
[ zap-uh-tek, zah-puh-; Spanish sah-paw-tek ]
/ ˈzæp əˌtɛk, ˈzɑ pə-; Spanish ˌsɑ pɔˈtɛk /
noun, plural Za·po·tecs, (especially collectively) Za·po·tec for 1.
a member of an American Indian people living in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
the Oto-Manguean language of the Zapotecs, consisting of a number of highly divergent dialects.
adjective
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.
Origin of Zapotec
< Mexican Spanish
zapoteco < Nahuatl
tzapotēcah, plural of
tzapotēcatl person from
Tzapotlān (
tzapo(tl) sapodilla +
-tēcatl suffix of personal nouns,
-tlān locative suffix)
Example sentences from the Web for zapotec
British Dictionary definitions for zapotec
Zapotec
/ (ˈzɑːpəˌtɛk) /
noun
Also: Zapotecan (ˌzæpəʊˈtɛkən, ˌzɑː-) plural -tecs or -tec
any member of a large tribe of central American Indians inhabiting S Mexico, esp the Mexican state of Oaxaca
the group of languages spoken by this people
adjective
Also: Zapotecan
of or relating to this people or their language
Word Origin for Zapotec
from Spanish
Zapoteca, from Nahuatl
Tzapoteca, literally: people of the land of the sapodillas, from
tzapotl sapodilla