Zapotec

noun

Za·​po·​tec ˌzä-pə-ˈtek 

ˌsä-,

ˌza-;

ˈzä-pə-ˌtek,

ˈsä-,

ˈza-

plural Zapotec or Zapotecs

: a member of an Indigenous people of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico

Examples of Zapotec in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

My grandfather spoke Zapotec but never taught my mom because there is a lot of discrimination toward Indigenous people. —Damaly Gonzalez, refinery29.com, 3 Apr. 2024

This rural town, home to a community of Indigenous Zapotec weavers and dyers, also happened to be the birthplace and home of our guide, Edgar Mendoza Martinez. —Flora Stubbs, Travel + Leisure, 5 Feb. 2024

Among other uses, this can help detect any underground cavities—like those the Zapotec reportedly used in rituals connected with the cult of the dead—or buried objects and/or archaeological structures. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 5 July 2023

Also missing was any means of classifying ethnic or tribal groups—Maya, Zapotec, Xinca, Lenca, Afro-Colombian, and so on. —Ananda Rose, Scientific American, 1 June 2015

Word History

Etymology

Spanish zapoteca, from Nahuatl tzapotēcah, plural of tzapotēcatl, literally, person of (the land of) sapodillas, from tzapotl sapodilla fruit + -tēcatl person (from)

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined above