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definitions

chinampa

[chi-nam-puh]
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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.

Origin of chinampa

1830–40; < Mexican Spanish < Nahuatl < chinamitl area enclosed by canes + pa on
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for chinampa

Historical Examples of chinampa

  • Viewed from a distance, the chinampa looked like an island of flowers.

    The Fair God

    Lew Wallace

  • The keeper of the chinampa was there with great bundles of flowers.

    The Fair God

    Lew Wallace

  • Do you recollect the dream I told you the night on the chinampa?

    The Fair God

    Lew Wallace

  • Up in the northeastern part of the little sea lay a chinampa at anchor.

    The Fair God

    Lew Wallace

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