Link Centre Dictionary

Lima

UK/ˈliːmə/ US/ˈlaɪmə/ uncommon

noun

1.

capital and largest city and economic center of Peru; located in western Peru; was capital of the Spanish empire in the New World until the 19th century

Synonyms

Origin

Borrowed from Spanish Lima, in turn, borrowed from Classical Quechua Limaq (“the one who speaks”), cognate with modern Quechua rimaq, from the name of a sanctuary identified as the Huaca de Santa Ana. The variation of /r/ > /l/ is product of the former "coastal" variety of Quechua spoken around modern-day Lima. The drop of final /q/ could be attributed either to another characteristic of Coastal Quechua or to Spanish adaptation. Ultimately derived from rimay (“to speak”).

Phrases

  • lima bean
  • Lima East
  • Lima South
  • Lima wood
  • Santa Rosa de Lima

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.