Inca

[ ing-kuh ]

/ ˈɪŋ kə /

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noun

a member of any of the dominant groups of South American Indian peoples who established an empire in Peru prior to the Spanish conquest.

a ruler or member of the royal family in the Incan empire.

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Origin of Inca

1585–95; <Spanish <Quechua inka ruler of the Inca state

OTHER WORDS FROM Inca

In·ca·ic

[ing-key-ik, in-], /ɪŋˈkeɪ ɪk, ɪn-/, adjectiveIncan, noun, adjectivepseudo-Incan, adjective, noun

Words nearby Inca

in brief, inbuilt, in bulk, inby, inc., Inca, Incabloc, incage, in cahoots, incalculable, incalescent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Inca in a sentence

Spanish written accounts described the widespread use of coca leaves during Inca rites of passage.
A special brew may have calmed Inca children headed for sacrifice|Bruce Bower|May 13, 2022|Science News
Valdez suspects Ampato mountain was originally called Qampato, a word meaning toad in the Inca language.
A special brew may have calmed Inca children headed for sacrifice|Bruce Bower|May 13, 2022|Science News
I thought mostly about llamas, the camelids first domesticated by the Inca in the high-altitude Andean mountains some 5,000 years ago, a calm and gentle beast of burden whose presence delighted our children and eased the weight on our backs.
‘Llama therapy’ in the wilds of Yellowstone National Park|Mary Winston Nicklin|October 8, 2021|Washington Post
On the same train is 19-year-old Renata Flores, an artist who became famous for singing modern songs in her native Quechua, the language of the Inca empire that is still spoken in modern-day Peru.
Latin America Is Defining the New Cool|Josefina Salomon|September 26, 2021|Ozy

The animals also provided meat and carried goods over some 25,000 miles of Inca roads.
Llamas Are Having A Moment In The US, But They’ve Been Icons In South America For Millennia|LGBTQ-Editor|December 19, 2020|No Straight News
How did the Inca get giant blocks of stone up mountains 500 years ago without the use of wheels?
The Real-Life Raiders of the Lost Ark|Alex Belth|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Especially when the leader in question is that Inca of Incas, the president of the United States.
What the Rest of the World Thinks of America’s Shutdown||October 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Among the Inca, quinoa was known as “chisaya mama” or “the mother grain,” and was treated with ritual ceremony.
The Perfect Quinoa|Cookstr.com|February 2, 2010|DAILY BEAST
It was the case in Peru, where the Inca was the direct representative on earth of the solar deity.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris
The high priest was second in dignity only to the Inca, and he was generally closely related to this ruler.
Ancient Faiths And Modern|Thomas Inman
Blasphemy against the sun was considered as bad as treason against the Inca, and both were punished with death.
Ancient Faiths And Modern|Thomas Inman
The registers were always submitted to the perusal of the Inca, and, subsequently, kept in the capital.
Ancient Faiths And Modern|Thomas Inman
What reasons actuated the Inca we have no means of ascertaining.
South American Fights and Fighters|Cyrus Townsend Brady

British Dictionary definitions for Inca

Inca

/ (ˈɪŋkə) /

noun plural -ca or -cas

a member of a South American Indian people whose great empire centred on Peru lasted from about 1100 ad to the Spanish conquest in the early 1530s and is famed for its complex culture

the ruler or king of this empire or any member of his family

the language of the IncasSee also Quechua

Derived forms of Inca

Incan, adjective

Word Origin for Inca

C16: from Spanish, from Quechua inka king

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012