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Milpa

3 stages from Nahuatl to English.

Today it means a traditional Mesoamerican farming plot where maize, beans, and squash are grown together

Where does the word "milpa" come from? It comes from Nahuatl milpan, passing through Spanish before entering English (1840s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
milpan
Nahuatl · pre-1500s
"a cultivated field"
combined 'milli' (cultivated field) and 'pan' (on, at), naming a traditional farming plot
2
Stage 2 of 3
milpa
Spanish · 1600s
"a small farming plot, often growing maize, beans, and squash together"
adopted into Mexican Spanish for the traditional maize, bean, and squash farming plot
3
Stage 3 of 3
milpa
English · 1840s
"a traditional Mesoamerican farming plot using intercropped staple crops"
borrowed into English through anthropological and agricultural writing on Mesoamerica
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