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Apache

A·pach·e

Apache

 
pronunciation:
pae chi
features:
Word History, Word Explorer
part of speech: noun
inflections: Apache, Apaches
definition: a member of a North American Indian people living mostly in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
Word History
The Apache Indians did not think of themselves as Apache. Their word for themselves was Nde or Inde, which means "people." Our word "Apache" comes from the Mexican Zuni Indian word for this tribe: apachu, or "enemy." The Zuni also called the Navajo Indians apachu. Borrowing the Zuni word, the Spanish used the word "Apache" to mean any North American Indian. From Spanish, the word entered American English in 1745 as the name for the Nde.
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