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

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

Word Origin and History for quipu

quipu

ancient Inca recording device using knotted cords, 1704, from Quechua quipu "knot."