biznaga

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, 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 and may also appear on a list of Spanish words from a different language.

Alphabetic list

A

aguacate (nahuatl awakatl)
ajolote (nahuatl axololtl)
alpaca
amate (nahuatl amatl)
ambú
atole (nahuatl atolli)

B

barbacoa
batata
bejuco
biznaga
bohío
boricua
borinqueño

C

cacahuate/cacahuete (nahuatl kakawatl)
cacao (nahuatl)
cacique
cacomistle, cacomiztle, cacomixtle (nahuatl kakomixtli)
caimán
calpulli (nahuatl kalpulli)
camelo
camote (nahuatl camohtli)
campechano
cancha (quechua)
caníbal
canoa
caoba
capulín
caraota
caribe
caribú
carioca
caraqueño
catre
caucho
casabe, cazabe
ceiba
chacra
chayote (nahuatl chayotl)
chía
chicle (nahuatl tsikitl)
chichimeca (nahuatl chichimeca)
chilacayote (nahuatl)
chile, chili (nahuatl chilli)
Chile
chileno
chinchilla
chirimoya
choclo (ear of corn)
chocolate (nahuatl chocolatl)
cigarro
coyote (nahuatl coyotl)
cuate

E

ejote
elote

G

gaucho
guacamaya, guacamayo
guacamole
guaco, huaco
guagua (child)
guajolote
guarábana
guanaco
guano
guaraní
guayaba
guineo
güiro

H

hamaca
henequén
hicaco
hule
huracán

I

iguana
inca
ixtle

J

jacal
jaguar
jíbaro
jícama
jícara
jitomate
jobo

L

lempira
loro
llama (animal)

M

macana
macanudo
maguey
maiz
mamey
mangle
maní
maraca
maracuyá
mate (drink)
maya
mecate
mesquite
milpa
mixteco
mole (sauce)

N

nahua
náhuatl
nana
nene
nigua
nopal

Ñ

ñandú
ñapa, yapa

O

ocelote
ocote
olmeca

P

palta
pampa
papa
papaya
patata
pécari
petaca
petate
pinole
poroto
potosí
pozole
pulque
puma

Q

quechua
quetzal
quiltro
quisqueyano

S

sabana
sonsote, cenzotle
soroche

T

tabaco
taco
tamal
tamandua
tapioca
tapir
tarahumara
tequila
tiburón
tiza
tolteca
tomate
tucán
tuna

V

vicuña

Y

yuca

Z

zacate
zapallo
zapote
zapoteca
zarigüeya
zopilote

List by language of origin

Arawakan

Aymara

china= feminine form of chino, see chino below
chino= a person indigenous to the Americas, a mestizo, a servant: from Aymara (or Quechua) china "female animal, 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)