quipu

[ kee-poo, kwip-oo ]

/ ˈki pu, ˈkwɪp u /

noun

a device consisting of a cord with knotted strings of various colors attached, used by the ancient Peruvians for recording events, keeping accounts, etc.

Nearby words

quintuplicate, quinua, quinze, quip, quipster, quipu, quire, quirinal, quirinus, quirites, quirk

Origin of quipu

1695–1705; < Spanish < Quechua khipu

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

Examples from the Web for quipu

Which are the nations that accepted the quipu, and sent their warriors to the gathering place?
Last of the Incas|Gustave Aimard
After these words he sat down, and threw in his quipu—a movement which was imitated by the other chiefs.
The Insurgent Chief|Gustave Aimard
The first material book was doubtless a series of knots well represented by the quipu (Fig. 2) of the ancient Peruvians.
Stories of Useful Inventions|Samuel Eagle Foreman
It, however, seldom happened that they had to read a quipu without some verbal commentary.
Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests|J. J. von Tschudi

The quipu has been sent round, and the chiefs who will be present at the meeting are twenty in number.
Last of the Incas|Gustave Aimard

British Dictionary definitions for quipu

quipu

quippu

/ (ˈkiːpuː, ˈkwɪpuː) /

noun

a device of the Incas of Peru used to record information, consisting of an arrangement of variously coloured and knotted cords attached to a base cord

Word Origin for quipu

C17: from Spanish quipo, from Quechua quipu, literally: knot

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