Zuni

American  

[zoo-nee] / ˈzu ni /

Also Zuñi

noun

plural

Zunis,

plural

Zuni

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.

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Zuñi British  

/ ˈsuː-, ˈzuːnjiː /

noun

1. 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

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Other Word Forms

• Zunian adjective
• Zuñian adjective

Etymology

Origin of Zuni

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

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

Sanchez offered an example to explain how the “West” has a different concept of ecology than the Zuni.

From Los Angeles Times

“Chaco Canyon and the greater Chaco region play an important role in the history, religion and culture of the Zuni people and other pueblo people as well,” she said.

From Seattle Times