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

After the death of Albert what central authority there was in Bohemia was lodged in the hands of two governors, Ptacek representing the Calixtins, and Mainhard of Rosenberg, the victor of Lipan, the Catholics.

From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume II by Henry Charles Lea

The Mexicans and the Lipans were now nominally at peace.

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

They went in at a point that was nearer than were Great Bear and his braves, to the spot where the Lipans worked their unintentional ambush.

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

Red Wolf was all alone, but if Great Bear was hunting Lipans, they, on their part, were on the lookout for Comanches.

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

The Comanche scouts were few in number and they had no desire to be caught between two fires, Lipans, if there were any, on one side, and the riflemen on the other.

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

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