# Mexican

Pronunciation: say "MEK-si-kuhn" US /ˈmɛksək(ə)n/, UK /ˈmɛksɪk(ə)n/

## Adjective

1. Relating to, originating in, or characteristic of the country of Mexico.
   - Simple: Coming from or having to do with the country of Mexico.
   - _Their Mexican heritage is celebrated every year with food and music._
   - _The Mexican economy depends heavily on trade with its northern neighbor._

## Noun

2. A person who is from the country of Mexico or who has Mexican ancestry.
   - Simple: Someone who comes from Mexico or whose family came from there.
   - _As a proud Mexican, she flew her country's flag on Independence Day._
   - _Thousands of Mexicans have built lives and businesses across the United States._
3. Cooking in the style of Mexico or its offshoots, including both traditional dishes and Tex-Mex.
   - Simple: Food cooked in the style of Mexico, like tacos, beans, and tortillas.
   - _After a long week, nothing beats Mexican with plenty of fresh salsa._
   - _The new place serves Mexican that leans more toward Tex-Mex than authentic Oaxacan cooking._
4. The variety of the Spanish language spoken in Mexico.
   - Simple: The kind of Spanish that people speak in Mexico.
   - _He learned Mexican before relocating to Guadalajara for work._
   - _Their Mexican carried the soft northern accent of Sonora._
5. A derogatory term applied to any person from a Spanish-speaking country, regardless of whether they have any connection to Mexico. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: An insulting word used for any Spanish-speaking person, even if they are not from Mexico.
   - _The foreman lumped all the workers together as Mexicans, even the ones from Peru._
   - _Calling a Guatemalan man a Mexican only showed his ignorance._
6. A person from either of the southern Australian states of New South Wales or Victoria. *(slang, Australia)*
   - Simple: A person from the southern Australian states of New South Wales or Victoria.
   - _He took some gentle teasing for being a Mexican, having grown up in Victoria._
   - _Queenslanders joke that the Mexicans never stop complaining about the heat up north._
7. A person from the state of Victoria, in southern Australia. *(dialectal, Australia, New South Wales)*
   - Simple: A person from the Australian state of Victoria.
   - _She moved up from Melbourne, so her coworkers ribbed her as a Mexican._
   - _A few Mexicans drove over from Ballarat for the match._

## Noun

8. A member of the Mexica, the Nahuatl-speaking Aztec people of central Mexico. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A member of the Aztec people who ruled central Mexico long ago.
   - _Spanish friars recorded that the Mexicans crowned a new ruler at Tenochtitlan._
   - _Each Mexican noble traced his lineage to the founders of the city._
9. The language of the Aztec people, now usually known as Nahuatl. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The language of the Aztec people, now generally called Nahuatl.

## Adjective

10. Relating to the Mexica, the Aztec people who founded Tenochtitlan. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Having to do with the Aztec people of central Mexico.
   - _The Mexican empire dominated the central valley before the Spanish arrived._
   - _Chroniclers detailed Mexican customs of warfare and tribute._
11. Relating to Nahuatl, the language spoken by the Aztec people. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Having to do with the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs.

## Origin

Borrowed from Spanish mexicano, from Nahuatl mēxihcah, the plural of mēxihcatl ("a Mexica"), with the ending -ano ("-an"). By surface analysis it is Mexico + -an, and it is a doublet of Mexicano.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/mexican (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).