CucapĆ”
/ku.kaĖpa/noun
CucapĆ” is the Spanish name for an Indigenous people of the lower Colorado River region and for their Yuman language.
Did you know?CucapĆ” is also known in English as Cocopah, while the peopleās own name is commonly represented as Kwapa; scholars caution that the ultimate meaning and pathway of the name are not fully certain.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact period
CucapĆ”
Kwapa
āA commonly recorded self-designation associated with the CucapĆ” people; its precise original analysis is debated.ā
18th Century
Spanish
CucapĆ”
āSpanish colonial spelling for the Indigenous people living along the lower Colorado River.ā
19th Century
English
Cocopah
āEnglish-language form of the ethnonym, influenced by Spanish and regional Indigenous-language forms.ā
20th Century
English
Cocopah
āEstablished English name for the people and their language in Arizona and northern Mexico.ā
Modern English
English
CucapĆ”
āA widely used Spanish-language form, increasingly retained in English writing to reflect the communityās preferred identity and orthography.ā