milpa

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

Milpa’s story begins in Nahuatl: milpan meant “a cultivated field.” Combined 'milli' (cultivated field) and 'pan' (on, at), naming a traditional farming plot. By 1600s, the word had taken hold in Spanish as milpa. The 'three sisters' crops of maize, beans and squash support each other in the same field. It reached English by 1840s as milpa. Borrowed into English through anthropological and agricultural writing on Mesoamerica. Today, milpa means a traditional Mesoamerican farming plot where maize, beans, and squash are grown together.

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