List of Spanish words of Indigenous American Indian origin
This is a list of Spanish words that come from indigenous languages of the Americas. It is further divided into words that come from Arawakan, Aymara, Carib, Mayan, Nahuatl, Quechua, Taíno, Tarahumara, Tupi and uncertain. Some of these words have alternate etymologies and may also appear on a list of Spanish words from a different language.
Alphabetic list
A
- achira — purple arrowroot or giant arrowhead
- aguacate — avocado
- ajolote — axolotl
- alpaca — alpaca
- amate — fig tree or creeping fig
- anticucho — skewered meat
- atole — atole
B
- barbacoa — barbecue
- batata — sweet potato
- bejuco — guaco or bejuco, a type of vine
- biznaga — refers several types of cacti, see Spanish Wikipedia
- bohío — bahareque, an indigenous style of building houses
- Borikén — name for Puerto Rico
- boricua — inhabitants of Borikén
- borinqueño — adaptation from the Taíno word Boricua, means Puerto Rican
C
- cacahuate/cacahuete
- cacao
- cacique
- cacomistle, cacomiztle, cacomixtle
- caimán
- calato
- calincha
- calpulli
- camote
- cancha
- caníbal
- canoa
- cañihua
- caoba
- capulín
- caraota
- Caribe
- caribú
- carioca
- caraqueño
- casava
- catre
- caucho
- casabe, cazabe
- casava
- cayo
- ceiba
- chaco
- chacra
- champa
- charqui
- chayote
- Chía
- chicle
- chilacayote
- chile, chili
- chinchilla
- chirimoya
- choclo
- chocolate
- choro
- coca
- condor
- concho
- coronta
- coquí
- coyote
- curaca
- cuate
- Cuba
- Cangil
E
- ejote
- elote
H
- Haití
- hamaca
- henequén
- hicaco
- huaca
- huaco
- huaraca
- huayco
- hule
- huracán
I
- iguana
- inca
- ixtle
J
- jacal
- jaguar
- Jamaica
- jíbaro
- jícama
- jícara
- jitomate
- jobo
L
- llama
- lempira
- loro
M
- mabí, maví
- macana
- macanudo
- maguey
- maiz
- mamey
- manatí
- mandioca
- mangle
- maní
- mapache
- maraca
- maracuyá
- mate
- maya
- mecate
- mesquite
- mico
- milpa
- mixteco
- mole
- morocho
N
- náhuatl
- nana
- nigua
- nopal
Ñ
- ñandú
- ñapa, yapa
O
- ocelote
- ocote
- ojota
- olmeca
P
- palta
- pampa
- papa
- papaya
- pécari
- petaca
- petate
- pinole
- pita
- popote
- poroto
- poto
- pozole
- pulque
- puma
- pupo
Q
- quechua
- quena
- quetzal
- quiltro
- quincha
- quina
- quinua, quinoa
- quipu
- quisqueyano
S
- sabana
- sonsote, cenzotle
- soroche
T
V
- vicuña
- vizcacha
W
- wincha
Y
- yuca
- yuyo
Z
- zacate
- zapallo
- zapote
- zapoteca
- zopilote
List by language of origin
Arawakan">Arawakan languages">Arawakan
IguanaCocoa
Barbecue
Hurricane
Hammock
Savannah
Tobacco
Papaya
Canoe
Potato
Jamaica
Guava
Aymara">Aymara language">Aymara
- china= feminine form of chino, see chino below
- chino= a person indigenous to the Americas, a mestizo, a servant: from Aymara china "female animal, servant"
Carib">Carib languages">Carib
- arepa = a typical maize bread; a pancake, a thin cake, fried or roasted made of maize flour
- canoa = a typical dugout canoe made by the native Amerindians
- curiara = a typical dugout canoe made by the native Amerindians
Mayan">Mayan languages">Mayan
chuco = advQuechua">Quechua language">Quechua
Quechuan /ˈkɛtʃwən/, also known as runa simi, 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 speakersTaíno">Taíno language">Taíno
- canoa = a typical dugout canoe made by the native Amerindians
[Tupi–Guarani languages]
- Guarani language: ñandú, ananá, guaraná, tatú, cajú, yacaré.
- Nheengatu language: tapioca, jaguar, mandioca, tucán o tapir.
Yaqui">Yaqui language">Yaqui
- buqui = boy/child
- bichi = nude