Milpa
/ˈmil.pa/noun
A field of maize and other crops, especially in Mesoamerican agriculture.
Did you know?Milpa is a Nahuatl term tied to a sophisticated polyculture system where maize, beans, squash, and other plants were grown together to sustain the soil and the people.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Nahuan
PN
*milli
“cultivated field”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
milpan
“in the field; field of cultivation”
Colonial Spanish
Spanish
milpa
“cornfield”
Modern English
English
milpa
“a Mesoamerican cornfield or crop field”