Inca
[ing-kuh]
- 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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for incas
Contemporary Examples
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 ShutdownOctober 3, 2013
Historical Examples
The drama was cultivated by the Incas, and dramatic performances were enacted before them.
Apu OllantayAnonymous
Under the rule of the Spaniards the roads of the Incas went to ruin.
The Railroad QuestionWilliam Larrabee
And in Peru a brave descendant of the Incas arose as a Deliverer.
A Short History of SpainMary Platt Parmele
Whatever it was, from the Incas' point of view it was absolute and satisfactory.
South American Fights and FightersCyrus Townsend Brady
I had seen the last day of the stately empire of my fathers the Incas!
The Romance of Golden Star ...George Chetwynd Griffith
Inca
- 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
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Word Origin
C16: from Spanish, from Quechua inka king
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for incas
Inca
n.
1590s, from Spanish Inga (1520s), from Quechea Inca, literally "lord, king." Technically, only of the high Inca, but it was used widely for "man of royal blood."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Incas
A Native American people who built a notable civilization in western South America in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The center of their empire was in present-day Peru. Francisco Pizarro of Spain conquered the Inca Empire.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.