Quechua

Also Kech·ua,

[kech-uh-wah, kech-wuh]

noun

plural

Quechuas ,

plural

Quechua .

1. the language of the Incan civilization, presently spoken by about 8 million people in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.

2. a member of an Indigenous people of Peru speaking Quechua.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Quechua or their language; Quechuan.

Quechua

/ ˈkɛtʃwə /

noun

1. a member of any of a group of South American Indian peoples of the Andes, including the Incas

2. the language or family of languages spoken by these peoples, possibly distantly related to the Tupï-Guarani family

Other Word Forms

• Quechuan adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Quechua¹

First recorded in 1680–90; from Spanish Quechua, Quichua, possibly from Quechua qichwa, qhichwa “temperate valley, people who live in a temperate valley”; possibly from Quechua kkechúwa “robber, plunderer”

Example Sentences

“Pancho started giving us these very specific, not only slang, but also Quechua words and things that would make it feel very specifically Ecuadorean,” Cordova says.

From Los Angeles Times

Quechua is the name for a family of Indigenous languages that spread from Peru to other neighboring countries.

From Science Daily

From there the Princess will head to Qoricancha, or “The Golden Temple” in Quechua language, considered the most important - and most sacred - temple by the Incas.

From Washington Times

Richard Tito, another assistant, was the son of rural Andean farmers and spoke only Quechua until he became the first person from his community to go to college.

From Science Magazine

Once there, they knelt, praying in Aymara, Quechua as well as Spanish, their eyes tightly closed with hands extended to the heavens.

From Reuters