chinampa

American

[chi-nam-puh] / tʃɪˈnæm pə /

noun

(in Mesoamerica) a long and narrow floating field on a shallow lake bed, artificially built up by layering soil, sediment, and decaying vegetation and used, especially by the Aztecs, to grow crops.

Etymology

Origin of chinampa

1830–40; < Mexican Spanish < Nahuatl < chinamitl area enclosed by canes + pa on

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Today, the future of chinampa agriculture hinges on a pocket of protected fields stewarded by local farmers in the marshy outskirts of Mexico City.

From Salon • Feb. 26, 2024

So do the Mexican chinampa farmers working to restore local food to disenfranchised urban communities.

From Salon • Feb. 26, 2024

But archaeology has revealed that generations of sustainable chinampa management could be overturned almost overnight.

From Salon • Feb. 26, 2024

These fields are now at risk as demand for housing drives informal settlements into the chinampa zone.

From Salon • Feb. 26, 2024

Every chinampa forms an oblong square about three hundred feet in length, and eighteen or nineteen feet broad.

From Travels in North America, From Modern Writers With Remarks and Observations; Exhibiting a Connected View of the Geography and Present State of that Quarter of the Globe by Bingley, William

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023