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milpa

American  
[mil-puh] / ˈmɪl pə /

noun

  1. (in certain tropical regions) a tract of land cleared from the jungle, usually by burning, farmed for a few seasons, and then abandoned.


Etymology

Origin of milpa

1835–45, < Mexican Spanish < Nahuatl mīlpan, equivalent to mīl ( li ) cultivated field + -pan locative suffix

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

What attracted us to the milpa was not just this romantic ideal of ancient wisdom.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 18, 2024

However, these groups condemned the traditional milpa practice of burning new areas of forest as unsustainable.

From Salon Feb. 26, 2024

As soon as his companion woke up, he would take the animal home, where it helps plow the milpa — rows of corn, beans and squash — on his family’s farm.

From New York Times May 9, 2023

All of the land is communally owned, divvied up by a town council into small plots where residents practice traditional milpa subsistence agriculture rotating maize, beans, chilis, squash, and agave.

From Slate Dec. 12, 2016

Likely the milpa cannot be replicated on an industrial scale.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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