Main Entry: Que·chua

Pronunciation: \ˈke-chə-wə, ˈkech-wə\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural Quechua or Quechuas

Etymology: Spanish, probably from Southern Peruvian Quechua qheswa (simi), literally, valley speech

Date: 1840

1 : a family of languages spoken by Indian peoples of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina
2 a : a member of an Indian people of central Peru b : a group of peoples forming the dominant element of the Inca Empire

— Que·chu·an \-wən\ adjective or noun