Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A member of a Mesoamerican Indian people centered at Monte Albán in southern Mexico, whose civilization reached its height around AD 300–900.
  • noun A modern-day descendant of this people.
  • noun Any of a group of Oto-Manguean languages spoken in southern Mexico by the Zapotec.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A member of an indigenous people of Mexico, concentrated in the state of Oaxaca and spread into some neighbouring states.
  • proper noun Any of a group of Oto-Manguean languages spoken by the Zapotec people.
  • adjective Of or relating to the Zapotec people.
  • adjective Of or relating to their language.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of or relating to the language or culture of the Zapotec people
  • noun a member of a large tribe of Mesoamericans living in southern Mexico whose civilization flourished around 300 to 900
  • noun the language of the Zapotec

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Spanish Zapoteco, from Nahuatl tzapotēcah, pl. of tzapotēcatl, person from Tzapotlan, from Tzapotlān, place name : tzapotl, sapodilla + tlān, place.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Spanish zapoteca, from Nahuatl Tzapotēcah, plural of Tzapotēcatl "inhabitant of the place of sapote".

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Examples

  • Zapotec is one of sixteen indigenous cultures still thriving today in the state of Oaxaca.

    Temazcal In Oaxaca 2007

  • Zapotec is one of sixteen indigenous cultures still thriving today in the state of Oaxaca.

    Temazcal In Oaxaca 2007

  • March of the Zapotec is the sound of the more traditional aspects of Beirut with lots of old world, European influences, while

    Pop Tarts Suck Toasted 2009

  • This is to inform you that we are doing all kind of Zapotec rugs and blankets and other textiles

    Looking for Mexican Suppliers 1919

  • At UCLA and other schools, some students are forgoing French, Spanish and Chinese to try indigenous Latin American languages such as Zapotec, Mixtec and Quechua.

    latimes.com - News 2010

  • Chinese to try rarely offered indigenous Latin American languages such as Zapotec, Mixtec,

    latimes.com - News 2010

  • You can have a Zapotec style lunch there in a nice restaurant on the highway soon after you pass the crest of the mountain.

    Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip 2009

  • The story goes that most men died during the Revolution and that the Zapotec women imported men to the area.

    Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip 2009

  • Another difference with other Zapotec villages is that homosexuality is totally accepted.

    Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip 2009

  • I look forward to that Zapotec-style lunch and to the journey that will take me through yet another beautiful part of Mexico.

    Huatulco to Oaxaca City Road Trip 2009

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