Lipan

American  

[li-pahn] / lɪˈpɑn /

noun

• Lipans,
  plural
• Lipan
  plural

1. a member of an Apache group that comprises several Apache bands, living in the southwestern United States east of the Rio Grande.

2. the Athabascan language of the Lipan.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Lipan
  plural
• Lipans
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of Lipan

First recorded in 1845–50; from Spanish Lipán, from Lipan self-designation Hleh-pai Ndé or Lépai-Ndé “Light Gray People” (a reference to the migration history of the Lipan)

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Lipan Lipans

They also feature Native American folklore passed down from tribes including the Comanche, Tonkawa and Lipan Apache, which all considered Enchanted Rock a sacred site.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Pastor Robert Soto was decked out in full garb as a feather dancer and member of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

For the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project, live bison are part of a program that teaches Indigenous youth about the animal, said the organization’s founder, Lucille Contreras of the Lipan Apache tribe.

From New York Times ● Jul. 4, 2023

Darcie Little Badger’s “A Snake Falls to Earth” is based in part on Lipan Apache storytelling traditions.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2021

As for even buffalo "hump," a Lipan warrior who could not go without his dinner had never yet been heard of.

From The Lost Gold of the Montezumas A Story of the Alamo by William O. Stoddard

There had been a reason for the course taken by the Lipans.

From The Lost Gold of the Montezumas A Story of the Alamo by William O. Stoddard

A friend, who has had much experience with the Indians of the Southwest, informs me that he is inclined to believe that the Lipans of Mexico are of Pawnee stock.

From Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk-Tales With notes on the origin, customs and character of the Pawnee people by George Bird Grinnell

He would have ridden as straight as he could to rejoin the band of Lipans and to tell his father that the Comanches were coming.

From The Lost Gold of the Montezumas A Story of the Alamo by William O. Stoddard

He was succeeding very well, and every minute was of importance to the Lipans, who were now threading their southward way through the chaparral with all the speed they could reasonably make.

From The Lost Gold of the Montezumas A Story of the Alamo by William O. Stoddard

The Lipans and Comanches were not at peace with each other.

From The Lost Gold of the Montezumas A Story of the Alamo by William O. Stoddard

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