Zapotec, n. & adj.

zapotec
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zapotec_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1986; not fully revised

# Zapotecnoun & adjective

## Earlier version

- Zapotec, n. and a. in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the word Zapotec mean?

There are three meanings listed in OED's entry for the word Zapotec. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

#### Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

### How common is the word Zapotec?

About 0.4occurrences per million words in modern written English

1810 | 0.011
1820 | 0.012
1830 | 0.012
1840 | 0.011
1850 | 0.02
1860 | 0.054
1870 | 0.07
1880 | 0.11
1890 | 0.13
1900 | 0.15
1910 | 0.16
1920 | 0.22
1930 | 0.23
1940 | 0.27
1950 | 0.32
1960 | 0.35
1970 | 0.35
1980 | 0.38
1990 | 0.38
2000 | 0.39
2010 | 0.38

### How is the word Zapotec pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzapə(ʊ)tɛk/
ZAP-oh-teck
/ˈzɑːpə(ʊ)tɛk/
ZAH-poh-teck

#### U.S. English

/ˈzæpəˌtɛk/
ZAP-uh-teck
/ˈzɑpəˌtɛk/
ZAH-puh-teck

### Where does the word Zapotec come from?

Earliest known use

late 1700s

The earliest known use of the word Zapotec is in the late 1700s.

OED's earliest evidence for Zapotec is from 1797, in Encyclopædia Britannica.

Zapotec is a borrowing from Spanish.

Etymons: Spanish zapoteco.

### Nearby entries

1. zap, n. 1968–
2. zap, v. 1942–
3. zap, int. 1929–
4. Zapata, n. 1962–
5. zapateado, n. 1845–
6. Zapatism, n. 1911–
7. Zapatismo, n. 1913–
8. Zapatist, n. & adj. 1911–
9. Zapatista, n. & adj. 1911–
10. zapote, n. 1842–
11. Zapotec, n. & adj.1797–
12. zappe, v. c1600
13. zapped, adj. 1962–
14. zapper, n. 1969–
15. zapping, n. 1972–
16. zappy, adj. 1969–
17. zaptieh, n. 1869–
18. ZAPU, n. 1961–
19. Zar, n. 1868–
20. Zarathustrian, adj. & n. 1859–
21. Zarathustrianism, n. 1864–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Spanish.
Etymon: Spanish zapoteco.
< Spanish zapoteco, zapoteca, < Nahuatl tzapoteca, plural of tzapotecatl, lit. ‘person of the place of the sapodilla’.

## Meaning & use

1. noun
   1. 1. a.
         1797–
         A member of an Indigenous people living in and around Oaxaca in southern Mexico.
         1. 1797

            > To the south-east..were the great provinces of the Mixtecas, the Zapotecas, and the Chiapanecas.

            Encyclopædia Britannica vol. XI. 668/1
         2. 1875

            > In Chiapa were the Zapotecs, in Yucatan the Mayas.

            Encyclopædia Britannica vol. I. 694/2
         3. 1877

            > The confederacy was confronted by hostile..tribes..: the tribes of Chiapas, and the Zapotecs.

            L. H. Morgan, Ancient Society ii. vii. 195
         4. 1953

            > The ancient Zapotecs..who may have come from Asia across the Behring Straits, and who are believed to have built..these temples at Mitla and Monte Albàn.

            S. Bedford, Sudden View iii. v. 231
         5. 1979

            > These Indians—the Zapotecs—were a matrilineal people.

            P. Theroux, Old Patagonian Express v. 75
         1. Chichimeca 1578–
            A member of any of various Indigenous peoples of Mexico, esp. the nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples inhabiting northern and central Mexico before the…
         2. Mixe a1616–
            A member of an Indigenous people of Oaxaca in southern Mexico.
         3. Miskito 1697–
            A Miskito person.
         4. Tiwa 1710–
            (A member of) a Pueblo people living in the upper Rio Grande valley, comprising the Northern Tiwa (Taos and Picuris), in New Mexico, and the Tigua…
         5. Nahuatlaca 1775–
            = Nahuatl, n. B.2.
         6. Otomi 1782–
            A member of an Indigenous people inhabiting parts of central Mexico.
         7. Aztec 1787–
            A member of a group of Indigenous peoples of central Mexico speaking Uto-Aztecan languages (esp. Nahuatl), whose culture was dominant in large parts…
         8. Mazahua 1787–
            A member of an Indigenous people inhabiting an area of Mexico to the north and west of Mexico City.
         9. Mixteca 1787–
            = Mixtec, n. A.1.
         10. Totonac 1787–
             An Indigenous people of east central Mexico; a member of this people. Also, their language. Also attributive.
         11. Aztecan 1797–
             A member of a group of Indigenous peoples of central Mexico speaking Uto-Aztecan languages (esp. Nahuatl), whose culture was dominant in large…
         12. Zapotec 1797–
             A member of an Indigenous people living in and around Oaxaca in southern Mexico.
         13. Chichimec 1809–
             A member of any of various Indigenous peoples of Mexico, esp. the nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples inhabiting northern and central Mexico before the…
         14. Nahua 1812–
             = Nahuatl, n. B.2.
         15. Quiché 1823–
             A member of a people inhabiting the western highlands of Guatemala.
         16. Nahuan 1824–
             A member of a group of Indigenous peoples of southern Mexico and Central America. Also occasionally with plural agreement and the: these people…
         17. Mayo 1829–
             A member of an Indigenous people inhabiting southern Sonora and northern Sinaloa, in north-western Mexico.
         18. Seri 1829–
             (A member of) an Indigenous people inhabiting western Sonora state, Mexico, and Tiburón Island in the Gulf of California.
         19. Yucatec 1843–
             (a) (A member of) an Indigenous people of the Yucatán peninsula in south-eastern Mexico. (b) colloquial. Any present-day inhabitant of the Peninsula…
         20. Mixtec 1852–
             A member of an Indigenous people of southern Mexico, noted for their skill in pottery and metallurgy.
         21. Olmec 1852–
             A member of an Indigenous people inhabiting the coast of southern Veracruz and western Tabasco during the 15th and 16th centuries, to where they…
         22. Mogollon 1855–
             A member of an Indigenous people of North and Central America, formerly living in western New Mexico. Also: a member of the people of the Mogollon…
         23. Yaqui 1861–
             (A member of) an Indigenous people of north-western Mexico.
         24. Kuna 1868–
             A member of an Indigenous people of the isthmus of Panama.
         25. Tzeltal 1868–
             (A member of) an Indigenous people inhabiting parts of southern Mexico; the Mayan language of this people. Also attributive or as adj.
         26. Yucatecan 1871–
         27. Nahuatl 1873–
             A member of any of the Nahuatl peoples.
         28. Huastec 1874–
             An Indigenous people inhabiting parts of Mexico; a member of this people.
         29. Tlapanec 1874–
             An Indigenous people of south-west Guerrero, Mexico.
         30. Bribri 1875–
             A member of a Central American people of the Talamanca region of southern Costa Rica and northern Panama. Also with plural agreement and the…
         31. Mangue 1876–
             A member of a Central American people formerly inhabiting the west coast of Nicaragua, closely related to the Chorotega of the Nicoya peninsula of…
         32. Mazatec 1878–
             A member of an Indigenous people of northern Oaxaca in southern Mexico.
         33. Subtiaba 1891–
             A member of an Indigenous people of western Nicaragua.
         34. Tequistlatec 1891–
             (A member of) an Indigenous people of south-east Oaxaca, Mexico; also, the language of this people.
         35. Nahuatlan 1897–
             = Nahuatl, n. B.2. rare.
         36. Huichol 1900–
             The language of this people.
         37. Mixtecan 1900–
             = Mixtec, n. A.1.
         38. Uto-Aztec 1903–
             A member of any of the various Indigenous peoples of Central America and western North America speaking languages of the Uto-Aztecan family. Cf. U…
         39. Mixe–Zoque 1957–
             With plural agreement: the Mixe and Zoque peoples of southern Mexico, considered as one people.
         40. Mixteco 1972–
             = Mixtec, n. A.1.
         41. Garifuna 1977–
             A member of a people descended from African former slaves and the Indigenous Caribs of St Vincent in the Lesser Antilles, and subsequently dispersed…
         42. Mixean 1982–
             A member of a people speaking any of the Mixean languages. Cf. Mixe, n. A.1. rare.
         43. Garinagu 1983–
             The Garifuna people, considered collectively. Cf. Garifuna, n. A.2.
         44. Mixe–Zoquean 1989–
             A member of the Mixe–Zoque. Cf. Mixe–Zoque, n. A.1.
         45. Tarahumara
             (A member of) an Uto-Aztecan people of north-western Mexico.
         46. Tarascan
             A member of an Indigenous people of the mountain area about lake Pátzcuara in Michoacán, Mexico.
         47. Trique
             An Indigenous people of Oaxaca, Mexico.
         View in Historical Thesaurus
      2. b.
         1881–
         Any of several dialects or languages of the Zapotecs.
         1. 1881

            > The other chief stock or at least not yet classified Mexican tongues are the Miztec and Zapotec of Oajaca, [etc.].

            Encyclopædia Britannica vol. XII. 828/1
         2. 1936

            > These ladies understand Zapoteco..but they do not speak it.

            E. C. Parsons, Mitla i. 16
         3. 1965

            > In Trique, Isthmus Zapotec, and certain other languages of Mexico, certain clause types have the preferred ordering predicate, subject, object.

            Language vol. 41 73
         4. 1973

            > The student of architecture we met in the square of Oaxaca was talking Zapotec to his girl-friend.

            Times 24 March 11/8
         1. Zapotec 1881–
            Any of several dialects or languages of the Zapotecs.
         2. Zapotecan 1922–
         View in Historical Thesaurus
2. adjective
   1. 1861–
      Of or pertaining to the Zapotecs.
      1. 1861

         > Whenever a Zapoteque woman is about to add one to the number of their community, the expectant father of the child assembles all his relations in his cabin.

         M. Reid, Hero in spite of Himself vol. I. 12
      2. 1927

         > Four words in the idioma, the Zapotec language..‘You understand them?’

         D. H. Lawrence, Mornings in Mexico 45
      3. 1934

         > A bas-relief of an ithyphallic man—the work..of the pre-Zapotec occupants of the site.

         A. Huxley, Beyond Mexique Bay 46
      4. 1972

         > The Zapoteco language is spoken in a number of regional dialects.

         Book Thousand Tongues (revised edition) 464/2
      5. 1980

         > Its hieroglyphs, mostly carved from 500 B.C. to A.D. 700, record the rise and decline of the Zapotec state.

         Scientific American February 46/3
      1. Chichimeca 1726–
         Of, relating to, or designating the Chichimecas or their languages; = Chichimec, adj.
      2. Aztecan 1787–
         Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Aztecs or their culture. Cf. Aztec, adj.
      3. Miskito 1789
         Of or relating to an Indigenous people living in a coastal region of eastern Nicaragua and north-eastern Honduras.
      4. Chichimec 1811–
         Of, relating to, or designating the Chichimecs or their languages; = Chichimeca, adj.
      5. Nahuatl 1814–
         Of or relating to any of a group of Indigenous peoples of southern Mexico and Central America, or their language.
      6. Quiché 1823–
         Of, relating to, or designating this people or their language.
      7. Aztec 1824–
         Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Aztecs or their culture. Cf. Aztecan, adj. A.1.
      8. Mayo 1829–
         Of, relating to, or designating the Mayo or their language.
      9. Seri 1829–
         Of or pertaining to the Seri or their language.
      10. Otomi 1843–
          Of, relating to, or designating the Otomi or their language.
      11. Mimbres 1856–89
          Of or relating to the Mimbreño Apache people of south-western New Mexico. Esp. in Mimbres Apache. Cf. Mimbreño, adj. Obsolete.
      12. Yaqui 1861–
          Of, pertaining to, or designating the Yaqui.
      13. Zapotec 1861–
          Of or pertaining to the Zapotecs.
      14. Nahuan 1862–
          Of, belonging to, or relating to any of the Nahuan peoples or their languages. Cf. Nahuatl, adj., Aztecan, adj. A.2.
      15. Nahua 1865–
          = Nahuatl, adj.
      16. Tzeltal 1868–
          (A member of) an Indigenous people inhabiting parts of southern Mexico; the Mayan language of this people. Also attributive or as adj.
      17. Yucatecan 1871–
      18. Tlapanec 1874–
          An Indigenous people of south-west Guerrero, Mexico.
      19. Mixtec 1875–
          Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Mixtecs or their languages.
      20. Bribri 1876–
          Of, relating to, or belonging to the Bribri or their language.
      21. Mangue 1876–
          Of or designating the Mangues or their language.
      22. Nahuatlaca 1877–
          = Nahuatl, adj.
      23. Mixe 1888–
          Designating, of, or relating to the Mixe or their languages.
      24. Trique 1891–
          Of or pertaining to this people or their language.
      25. Mazatecan 1892–
          = Mazatec, adj.
      26. Subtiaba 1892–
          Of or relating to the Subtiabas or their language.
      27. Huichol 1900–
          Of or pertaining to this people or their language.
      28. Kuna 1905–
          Of or relating to this people or their language.
      29. Mixteca 1911–
          = Mixtec, adj.
      30. Subtiaban 1911–
          = Subtiaba, adj.
      31. Tarascan 1911–
          Of or pertaining to this people or their language.
      32. Tarahumara 1912–
          Of, pertaining to, or designating this people.
      33. Zapotecan 1922–
      34. Tzotzil 1939–
          (A member of) an Indigenous people inhabiting parts of southern Mexico; the Mayan language of this people. Also attributive or as adj.
      35. Mixe–Zoquean 1940–
          Designating or relating to the Mixe and Zoque peoples of southern Mexico, considered as one group, or their languages.
      36. Tiwa 1950–
          (A member of) a Pueblo people living in the upper Rio Grande valley, comprising the Northern Tiwa (Taos and Picuris), in New Mexico, and the Tigua…
      37. Mixteco 1959–
          = Mixtec, adj.
      38. Kekchi 1960–
          Of or pertaining to the Kekchi or their language.
      39. Uto-Aztecan 1968–
          Of or relating to a family of Indigenous languages of Central America and western North America, including Nahuatl, Shoshone, Hopi, and Paiute…
      40. Uto-Aztec 2022–
          Of or relating to a family of Indigenous languages of Central America and western North America, including Nahuatl, Shoshone, Hopi, and Paiute…
      View in Historical Thesaurus
      1. Maya 1818–
         = Mayan, adj.
      2. Toltecan 1839–
      3. Mayan 1875–
         Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Maya people of Central America.
      4. Toltec 1875–
         Of or pertaining to this people.
      5. Zapotec 1934–
         Of or pertaining to the Zapotecs.
      View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzapə(ʊ)tɛk/
ZAP-oh-teck
/ˈzɑːpə(ʊ)tɛk/
ZAH-poh-teck

### U.S. English

/ˈzæpəˌtɛk/
ZAP-uh-teck
/ˈzɑpəˌtɛk/
ZAH-puh-teck

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Forms

### Variant forms

Also 1700s– Zapoteca, Zapoteco, 1800s Zapoteque.

## Frequency

Zapotec typically occurs about 0.4 times per million words in modern written English.

Zapotec is in frequency band 4, which contains words occurring between 0.1 and 1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of Zapotec, n. & adj., 1810–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1810 | 0.011
1820 | 0.012
1830 | 0.012
1840 | 0.011
1850 | 0.02
1860 | 0.054
1870 | 0.07
1880 | 0.11
1890 | 0.13
1900 | 0.15
1910 | 0.16
1920 | 0.22
1930 | 0.23
1940 | 0.27
1950 | 0.32
1960 | 0.35
1970 | 0.35
1980 | 0.38
1990 | 0.38
2000 | 0.39
2010 | 0.38

### Frequency of Zapotec, n. & adj., 2017–2024

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the corpus.

Period | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
2017 | 0.018
2018 | 0.019
2019 | 0.02
2020 | 0.021
2021 | 0.022
2022 | 0.022
2023 | 0.021
2024 | 0.021

## Compounds & derived words

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1. Zapotecan, adj. & n. 1922–

Zapotec, n. & adj. was first published in 1986; not fully revised.

Zapotec, n. & adj. was last modified in July 2023.