noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A member of the group of Quechuan peoples of highland Peru who established an empire from northern Ecuador to central Chile before the Spanish conquest.

   "To honor the spirits that take form as mountains, the Inca stoneworkers carved rock outcrops to replicate their shapes."

2. 2
   Any of several species of hummingbirds in the genus Coeligena
3. 3
   a member of the Quechuan people living in the Cuzco valley in Peru wordnet
4. 4
   a ruler of the Incas (or a member of their family) wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

beycaesarczardalai lamaincanincan

Example

More examples

"Many of the things Pizarro had heard about the Inca treasure were true."

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish inca, from Classical Quechua inka (“emperor”).

Related phrases

Gould's incaInca doveInca lilyPeruvian Inca Orchidblack incabronzy incabrown incacollared inca

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.