Quichua

[ keech-wah, -wuh ]

/ ˈkitʃ wɑ, -wə /

noun, plural Quich·uas, (especially collectively) Quich·ua.

Quechua.

Quechua

or Kech·ua, Kech·uan, Quech·uan, Quich·ua

[ kech-wah, -wuh ]

/ ˈkɛtʃ wɑ, -wə /

noun, plural Quech·uas, (especially collectively) Quech·ua for 2.

the language of the Inca civilization, presently spoken by about 7 million people in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.

a member of an Indian people of Peru speaking Quechua.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for quichua

He has been so long in the country (thirteen years) his English would now and then run off into Spanish or Quichua.
The Andes and the Amazon|James Orton
It must be pointed out, however, that other authorities regard the Aymara and Quichua as entirely distinct.
Man, Past and Present|Agustus Henry Keane
Of the Quichua, Quiteña, and Lama languages several grammars and dictionaries exist.
Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests|J. J. von Tschudi
Uru is the Quichua word for caterpillars or grubs, pampa means flat land.
Inca Land|Hiram Bingham

The words of the song—or hymn, rather—were Quichua, and Escombe was therefore unable to gather the sense of them.
Harry Escombe|Harry Collingwood

British Dictionary definitions for quichua

Quichua

/ (ˈkɪtʃwə) /

noun plural -uas or -ua

a variant of Quechua

Quechua

Kechua Quichua

/ (ˈkɛtʃwə) /

noun

plural -uas or -ua a member of any of a group of South American Indian peoples of the Andes, including the Incas

the language or family of languages spoken by these peoples, possibly distantly related to the Tupï-Guarani family

Derived FormsQuechuan, Kechuan or Quichuan, adjective, noun

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

Word Origin and History for quichua

Quechua

Indian people of Peru and surrounding regions, 1811, from Spanish, from Quechua kechua "plunderer, destroyer." Also the name of their language. Related: Quechuan.