Mixe
/ˈmiː.ʃeɪ/noun
A member of an Indigenous people of Oaxaca, Mexico, or any of their related languages.
Did you know?The ultimate Indigenous origin of the ethnonym “Mixe” remains uncertain; popular explanations connecting it with Nahuatl words for “cloud” are disputed rather than established fact.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian period
Mixe languages
Unrecorded Indigenous ethnonym
“The community’s original self-designation is not securely recoverable from surviving written sources.”
16th Century
Spanish
Mixe
“Spanish colonial sources record the name for an Indigenous people of Oaxaca.”
19th Century
English
Mixe
“English-language ethnographic and linguistic works adopt the Spanish ethnonym.”
20th Century
English
Mixe
“The term becomes established in anthropology and linguistics for the people and their language group.”
Modern English
English
Mixe
“A noun or adjective referring to the Mixe people, their culture, or their languages.”
Explore more surprising origins