Zapotec

[zap-uh-tek, zah-puh-, sah-paw-tek]

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.

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

/ 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

adjective

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Zapotec¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Zapotec¹

from Spanish Zapoteca, from Nahuatl Tzapoteca, literally: people of the land of the sapodillas, from tzapotl sapodilla

Example Sentences

The hamlet of Yojuela is home to some 500 people — all of Indigenous Zapotec origins — who reside deep in the Sierra Madre Oriental, in Mexico’s southern Oaxaca state.

From Los Angeles Times

"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

The parents of a 23-year-old undocumented migrant, a member of Mexico's indigenous Zapotec community, told the Washington Post their son, who they said has no criminal history, was detained outside a clothing store.

From BBC

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

When looking through the vast selection, visitors can find stories from almost every Latin American country and even a few in Indigenous languages like Nahuatl and Zapotec.

From Los Angeles Times