pukara

P3U1K5A1R1A1

noun

A defensive hilltop site or fortification built by the prehispanic inhabitants (primarily Inca and Aymara) of the central Andean area.

OriginQuechua pukara →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

pukara1

nounpukara (plural pukaras)

plural pukaras

  1. historicalarchaeologyA defensive hilltop site or fortification built by the prehispanic inhabitants (primarily Inca and Aymara) of the central Andean area.

    Some of the largest pukaras had substantial villages and hamlets around their base.

    2003, Charles Stanish, Ancient Titicaca: The Evolution of Complex Society in Southern Peru and Northern Bolivia, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 209

Pukara2

nounPukara pl (plural only)

alternative Pucara · alternative Pucará

  1. pluralplural onlyarchaeologyA culture that developed in Qullaw, along the north-western shore of Lake Titicaca.

Origin

  1. Quechuapukara“fortress”
  2. Englishpukara

Borrowed from Quechua pukara (“fortress”).

More words from Quechua

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French pucara
  • pucaraTranslations
Spanish pucará
  • pucaráTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

pukara. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pukara

MLA

“pukara.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pukara. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pukara,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pukara.

Source: pukara on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.