English

Noun

chinampa ‎(plural chinampas)

1. (historical, in ancient Mesoamerica) A floating island in a shallow lake bed, upon which crops were grown.

Anagrams

• champian

Spanish

Etymology

From Classical Nahuatl chināmpan, from chināmitl ‎(“cane fence”) + -pan ‎(“on”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʃiˈnampa/

Noun

chinampa f ‎(plural chinampas)

1. (Mexico) Each of the artificial islands employed in the chinampa method of agriculture. Such islands were often built on wooden rafts during the pre-Columbian era.

Usage notes

As a whole, the chinampa method of agriculture is often termed sistema de chinampas or simply chinampas in Spanish, whereas chinampa specifically refers to the tracts of land.

Derived terms

• chinampero

References

• “chinampa” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima segunda edición, Real Academia Española, 2001.