Inca

[ ing-kuh ]

noun
  1. a member of any of the dominant groups of South American Indian peoples who established an empire in Peru prior to the Spanish conquest.

  2. a ruler or member of the royal family in the Incan empire.

Origin of Inca

1
1585–95; <Spanish <Quechua inka ruler of the Inca state

Other words from Inca

  • In·ca·ic [ing-key-ik, in-], /ɪŋˈkeɪ ɪk, ɪn-/, adjective
  • Incan, noun, adjective
  • pseudo-Incan, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for Inca

Inca

/ (ˈɪŋkə) /


nounplural -ca or -cas
  1. a member of a South American Indian people whose great empire centred on Peru lasted from about 1100 ad to the Spanish conquest in the early 1530s and is famed for its complex culture

  2. the ruler or king of this empire or any member of his family

  1. the language of the Incas: See also Quechua

Origin of Inca

1
C16: from Spanish, from Quechua inka king

Derived forms of Inca

  • Incan, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012