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Quechua

[ kech-uh-wah, kech-wuh ]

noun

, plural Quech·uas, (especially collectively) Quech·ua
  1. the language of the Incan civilization, presently spoken by about 8 million people in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
  2. a member of an Indigenous people of Peru speaking Quechua.


adjective

  1. of or relating to the Quechua or their language; Quechuan.

Quechua

/ ˈkɛtʃwə /

noun

  1. -uas-ua a member of any of a group of South American Indian peoples of the Andes, including the Incas
  2. the language or family of languages spoken by these peoples, possibly distantly related to the Tupï-Guarani family
“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


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Derived Forms

  • ˈQuechuan, adjectivenoun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of Quechua1

First recorded in 1680–90; from Spanish Quechua, Quichua, possibly from Quechua qichwa, qhichwa “temperate valley, people who live in a temperate valley”; possibly from Quechua kkechúwa “robber, plunderer”
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Example Sentences

This time, a conversation with a Quechua man he met while researching for his dissertation in Peru.

The word pampa belongs to the Quechua language, language of the Incas.

Their life is absolutely distinct from that of their Quechua neighbors.

For the rest, the Incas endeavoured to spread the language of Cuzco, the Quechua, throughout their empire.

In the south, Aymara is chiefly spoken; but further north, Quechua is the commoner language.

By this route the long quechua passed amongst the Diaguites populations.

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QuechanQuechuan