incas
incas Lexical Profile
incas Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The Quechuan people who established a vast pre-Columbian empire in the Andean region of western South America, centered in Cusco in modern-day Peru, prior to the Spanish conquest in the 16th century.
"The Incas constructed an extensive network of mountain roads and agricultural terraces across the Andes."
The supreme emperors, monarchs, or royal nobles who ruled the Incan Empire.
"Spanish chroniclers recorded the oral histories and lineages of the ruling Incas."
Wait-listed plural of 'inca': Any of several South American hummingbirds of the genus Coeligena, inhabiting humid Andean cloud forests and characterized by dark or iridescent plumage and a distinctive white or buff throat patch.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed via Spanish from the Quechua word 'inka', meaning 'lord', 'king', or 'ruler', which originally designated the royal family and ruling class before being applied by the Spanish to all subjects of the empire.