Dictionary

Inca en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈɪŋkə/

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish inca, from Classical Quechua inka (“emperor”).

Meanings

1. A member of the group of Quechuan peoples of highland Peru who established an empire from northern Ecuador to central Chile before the Spanish conquest.
   • Archaeologists say the Incas, brought down by the Spanish conquest, used khipus – strands of woolen cords made from the hair of animals like llamas or alpacas – as an alternative to writing. 2010 August 16, Simon Romero, “High in the Andes, Keeping an Incan Mystery Alive”, in The New York Times:
   • To honor the spirits that take form as mountains, the Inca stoneworkers carved rock outcrops to replicate their shapes. 2007 June 24, Arthur Lubow, “The Possessed”, in The New York Times:

Forms

Deriveds

Inca dove · Incan · Peruvian Inca Orchid · Inca lily

Translations (24)

mr इन्का (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · cmn 印加 (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · fi inka (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · pt inca (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · es inca (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · is Inki (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · eo Inkao (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · ca inca (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · fr Inca (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · sh Inka (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · nb inka (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · ru и́нка (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · da inka (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · cs Inka (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · ja インカ (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · ko 잉카인 (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · sh Инка (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · pl Inka (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · de Inka (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · ko 잉카 (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · la Inca (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · eo Inkaino (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · nn inka (member of the group of Quechuan peoples) · ga Inceach (member of the group of Quechuan peoples)