Zapotec

American  

[zap-uh-tek, zah-puh-, sah-paw-tek] / ˈzæp əˌtɛk, ˈzɑ pə-, ˌsɑ pɔˈtɛk /

noun

plural

Zapotecs,

plural

Zapotec

1. a member of an American Indian people living in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.

2. the Oto-Manguean language of the Zapotecs, consisting of a number of highly divergent dialects.

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adjective

1. Archaeology. of or relating to a Mesoamerican Indian civilization of the Oaxaca region of Mexico c600 b.c. to a.d. 1000, characterized by a bar-and-dot system of enumeration, a calendar of Mayan derivation, ball courts, and underground frescoed tombs.

Zapotec British  

/ ˈzɑːpəˌtɛk /

noun

1. Also: Zapotecan.  any member of a large tribe of central American Indians inhabiting S Mexico, esp the Mexican state of Oaxaca

2. the group of languages spoken by this people

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adjective

1. Also: Zapotecan.  of or relating to this people or their language

Etymology

Origin of Zapotec

< Mexican Spanish zapoteco < Nahuatl tzapotēcah, plural of tzapotēcatl person from Tzapotlān ( tzapo ( tl ) sapodilla + -tēcatl suffix of personal nouns, -tlān locative suffix)

Example Sentences

The Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project fosters “community with 60 to 100 Indigenous youth from the Mixteco, Zapotec, and many other Diasporic communities throughout the Central Coast.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 4, 2026

The flowers were painstakingly hand-sewn onto the fabric by Claudia Vazquez, a 43-year-old Zapotec Indigenous woman who told AFP she had nearly given up on embroidery, her first love.

From Barron's • Jan. 2, 2026

"This falls short of the respect and collaborative approach that Oaxaca, the Zapotec community of Villa Hidalgo Yalalag, and its people deserve," he added.

From BBC • Aug. 10, 2025

The young Zapotec Indigenous people in La Raya, a small rural town in Oaxaca where the Chatino language is spoken, dream of migrating north to the United States, seeking prosperity.

From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2025

With Zapotec backing, he linked rebels in Red and White Bundle and a host of other cities defeated by 8-Deer.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann