This is a list of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

words that come from

indigenous languages of the Americas Over a thousand indigenous languages are spoken by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. These languages cannot all be demonstrated to be related to each other and are classified into a hundred or so language families (including a large nu ...

. It is further divided into words that come from

Arawakan Arawakan (''Arahuacan, Maipuran Arawakan, "mainstream" Arawakan, Arawakan proper''), also known as Maipurean (also ''Maipuran, Maipureano, Maipúre''), is a language family that developed among ancient indigenous peoples in South America. Branch ...

, Aymara, Carib,

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

, Tarahumara, Tupi and uncertain (the word is known to be from the Americas, but the exact source language is unclear). Some of these words have alternate

etymologies Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words a ...

and may also appear on a list of

words from a different

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

Alphabetic list

A

*achira (Quechua) *aguacate (Nahuatl ''awakatl'') *ajolote (Nahuatl ''axolotl'') *

alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can success ...

(Quechua ''allpaqa'') *amate (Nahuatl ''amatl'') *anticucho (Quechua ''anti uchu'') *atole (Nahuatl ''atolli'')

B

*barbacoa (Taino) * batata (Taíno) *bejuco (Taino) *biznaga *bohío (Taino) *Borike′n (Taino) name for Puerto Rico *boricua (Taino) inhabitants of Borike′n *borinqueño adaptation from the Taino word Boricua

C

*cacahuate/cacahuete (Nahuatl ''kakawatl'') * cacao (Nahuatl) *cacique (Taíno) *cacomistle, cacomiztle, cacomixtle (Nahuatl ''kakomixtli'') * caimán (Taíno) *calato (Quechua) *calincha (Quechua ''qharincha'') *calpulli (Nahuatl ''kalpulli'') *camote (Nahuatl ''kamohtli'') *cancha (Quechua ''kancha'') * caníbal (Taíno) *canoa (Taíno) *cañihua (Quechua ''qañiwa'') *caoba *capulín *caraota *Caribe (Taíno) *caribú *carioca *caraqueño *

casava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

(Taíno) *catre *caucho (Quechua) * casabe, cazabe (Taíno) *casava (Taíno) *cayo (Taíno) *ceiba (Taíno) *chaco (Quechua ''chaku'') *chacra (Quechua ''chakra'') *champa (Quechua ''ch'ampa'') *charqui (Quechua ''ch'arki'') *chayote (Nahuatl ''chayotl'') * Chía (Quechua) *

chicle Chicle () is a natural gum traditionally used in making chewing gum and other products. It is collected from several species of Mesoamerican trees in the genus ''Manilkara'', including '' M. zapota'', '' M. chicle'', '' M. staminodella'', and '' ...

(Nahuatl ''tsikitl'') *chilacayote (Nahuatl) *chile, chili (Nahuatl ''chilli'') *chinchilla (Aymara) *chirimoya (Quechua ''chiri muya'') *choclo (Quechua ''chuqllu'') *

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec ci ...

(Nahuatl ''xokolatl'') *choro (Quechua ''ch'uru'') *coca (Quechua ''kuka'') *

condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vu ...

(Quechua ''kuntur'') *concho (''qunchu'') *coronta (Quechua ''q'urunta'') *coquí (Taíno) *

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...

(Nahuatl ''koyotl'') *curaca (Quechua ''kuraka'') *cuate (Nahuatl ''koatl'') *Cuba (Taíno) *Cangil (Quechua '' kankil '')

E

*ejote (Nahuatl ''exotl'') *elote (Nahuatl ''elotl'')

H

*Haití (Taíno) *hamaca *henequén *hicaco *huaca (Quechua) *huaco (Quechua) *huaraca (Quechua ''warak’a'') *huayco (Quechua) *hule *huracán (Taíno)

I

*iguana (Taíno) *inca (Quechua ''inka'') *ixtle (Nahuatl)

J

*jacal *jaguar (Guaraní) *Jamaica (Taíno) *jíbaro *jícama (Nahuatl ''xikámatl'') *jícara *jitomate *jobo

L

*llama (Quechua) *lempira *loro

M

*mabí, maví (Taíno) *macana *macanudo *maguey (Taíno) *maiz (Taíno) *mamey (Taíno) *manatí (Taíno) *mandioca (Nheengatu/Guaraní ''manio'k'' / ''mandio'') *mangle (Taíno) *maní *mapache (Nahuatl ''mapachtli'') *maraca *maracuyá *mate ('drink') *maya *mecate (Nahuatl ''mekatl'') *mesquite (Nāhuatl ''mizquitl'') *mico (Voz cumanagota) *milpa (Nahuatl ''milpan'') *mixteco (Nahuatl ''mixtekatl'') *mole ('sauce', Nahuatl ''molli'') *morocho (Quechua )

N

*náhuatl *nana (Quechua ''ñaña') *nigua *nopal (Nahuatl ''nopalli'')

Ñ

*ñandú *ñapa, yapa (Quechua)

O

*ocelote (Nahuatl ''ocelotl'') *ocote (Nahuatl ''okotl'') *ojota (Quechua ''ushuta'') *olmeca (Nahuatl ''olmekatl'')

P

*palta (Quechua) *pampa (Quechua) *papa (Quechua) *papaya (Taíno) *pécari *petaca *petate *pinole *pita (Quechua) *popote (Nahuatl, ''popotl'') *poroto (Quechua ''purutu'') *poto (Quechua ''putu) *pozole (Nahuatl, ''pozolli'') *pulque (Classical Nahuatl ''poliuhqui octli'') *puma (Quechua ''puma'') *pupo (Quechua ''pupu'')

Q

*quechua (Quechua ''qhichwa'') *quena (Quechua) *quetzal (Nahuatl) *quiltro *quincha (Quechua ''qincha'') *quina (Quechua ''kinakina'') *quinua, quinoa (Quechua ''kinwa'') *quipu (Quechua ''khipu'') *quisqueyano

S

*sabana (Taíno) *sonsote, cenzotle *soroche (Quechua ''suruchiq'')

T

*tacho (Quechua ''tachu'') *tamal (Nahuatl ''tamalli'') *tamandua *tambo (Quechua ''tampu'') *

tapioca Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, but whose use is now spread throughout South America ...

*tarahumara *

tepehuán The Tepehuán are an indigenous people of Mexico. They live in Northwestern, Western, and some parts of North-Central Mexico. The indigenous Tepehuán language has three branches: Northern Tepehuan, Southeastern Tepehuan, Southwestern Tepehu ...

(Nahuatl ''Tēpēhuanih, Tepēhuāntin, Tēpēhuanitlahtōlli, and/or Tepēhuahcān'') *tequila (Tecuilah) *tiburón (Taíno) *tiza (Nahuatl, ''tizatl'') *tomate (Nahuatl ''tómatl'') *tucán *tuna *tuza (Nahuatl)

V

*vicuña (Quechua ''wik'uña'') *vizcacha (Quechua ''wisk'acha'')

W

*wincha (Quechua ''wincha)

Y

yuca ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

*yuyo (Quechua ''yuyu'')

Z

*zacate (Nahuatl ) *zapallo (Quechua ) *zapote (Nahuatl ) *zapoteca (Nahuatl ) *zopilote (Nahuatl )

List by language of origin

Arawakan Arawakan (''Arahuacan, Maipuran Arawakan, "mainstream" Arawakan, Arawakan proper''), also known as Maipurean (also ''Maipuran, Maipureano, Maipúre''), is a language family that developed among ancient indigenous peoples in South America. Branch ...

Iguana Cocoa Barbecue Hurricane Hammock Savannah Tobacco Papaya Canoe Potato Jamaica Guava

Aymara

*china=

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered fe ...

form of chino, see chino below *chino= a person indigenous to the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

, a

mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...

, a

servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

: from Aymara (or

) ''china'' "

female Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Fema ...

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage ...

, servant"

Carib

*arepa = a typical maize bread ; a pancake, a thin cake, fried or roasted made of maize flour (from Carib ''arepa'') *canoa = a typical dugout canoe made by the native Amerindians (from Carib ''kanawa'') *curiara = a typical dugout canoe made by the native Amerindians (from Carib ''kurijara'')

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

chuco = adv (comp)

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...

Quechua Quechua may refer to: Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

Quechuan /ˈkɛtʃwən/, also known as runa simi ("people's language"), is a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language. It is the most widely spoken language family of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a total of probably some 8 million to 10 million speakers

Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

*canoa = a typical dugout canoe made by the native Amerindians (from Taíno )

Tarahumara

Tupi–Guarani languages Tupi–Guarani () is the most widely distributed subfamily of the Tupian languages of South America. It consists of about fifty languages, including Guarani and Old Tupi. The words ''petunia, jaguar, piranha, ipecac, tapioca, jacaranda, a ...

Guarani language Guaraní (), specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guarani ( "the people's language"), is a South American language that belongs to the Tupi–Guarani family of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of ...

: ''ñandú, ananá, guaraná, tatú, cajú, yacaré''. * Nheengatu language:

(< ''typyʼók-a''),

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

(< ''jawár-a''), mandioca (< ''maniʼók-a''), tucán (< ''tukán-a'') o

tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America, with one species inh ...

(< ''tapiʼír-a'').

Yaqui The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are a Native American people of the southwest, who speak a Uto-Aztecan language. Their homelands include the Río Yaqui valley in Sonora, Mexico, and the area below the Gila River in Arizona, Southwestern United Sta ...

*buqui = boy/child *bichi = nude

References

*"Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española" by Guido Gómez de Silva ({{ISBN, 968-16-2812-8) American Indianst

Alphabetic list

A

B

C

E

H

I

J

L

M

N

Ñ

O

P

Q

S

T

V

W

Y

Z

List by language of origin

Arawakan Arawakan (''Arahuacan, Maipuran Arawakan, "mainstream" Arawakan, Arawakan proper''), also known as Maipurean (also ''Maipuran, Maipureano, Maipúre''), is a language family that developed among ancient indigenous peoples in South America. Branch ...

Aymara

Carib

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

Tarahumara

Tupi–Guarani languages Tupi–Guarani () is the most widely distributed subfamily of the Tupian languages of South America. It consists of about fifty languages, including Guarani and Old Tupi. The words ''petunia, jaguar, piranha, ipecac, tapioca, jacaranda, a ...

Yaqui The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are a Native American people of the southwest, who speak a Uto-Aztecan language. Their homelands include the Río Yaqui valley in Sonora, Mexico, and the area below the Gila River in Arizona, Southwestern United Sta ...

See also

References

Quechua Quechua may refer to: Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...