Quechua
/ˈkɛtʃ.u.ə/noun
A family of Indigenous languages of the Andes, especially in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and neighboring regions.
Did you know?Quechua was spread and standardized under the Inca state, then recorded by Spanish chroniclers, making it one of the great surviving languages of the pre-Columbian world.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian Andes
Proto-Quechua
*qichwa
“Likely referred to the temperate valley zone or people of that region”
15th Century
Quechua
qichwa
“An Andean people and their language, associated with the Inca heartland”
16th Century
Spanish
quechua
“Spanish transcription of the Indigenous name for the language and its speakers”
Modern English
English
Quechua
“The Indigenous language family of the central Andes”