ˈzäpəˌtek, ˈsä- noun
( plural zapotec or zapotecs )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Spanish Zapoteca, from Nahuatl Tzapoteca, literally, people of the land of the sapodillas, from tzapotlan place of the sapodillas (from tzapotl sapodilla) + -teca (plural of -tecatl, suffix denoting origin)
1.
a. : an Indian people of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico
b. : a member of such people
2. : a Zapotecan language of the Zapotec people