Apaches

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of Native American tribes originating from the Southwestern United States known for their distinct cultural practices and historical conflicts
2. Referring to indigenous peoples renowned for their warrior culture and resistance during European colonization; often associated with plains and mountainous regions
3. A collective term for various tribes that share linguistic and cultural traits, famous for their nomadic lifestyle and intricate social systems

Etymology: "Apaches" is the plural of "apache", and the singular carries the history. The name is an exonym: it was applied from outside by others rather than being the name these peoples used for themselves. The most widely cited origin traces it to a Zuni word, "apachu", meaning "enemy", which Spanish speakers picked up and spread across the American Southwest. Note that this derivation is a common account rather than a settled fact, so treat it as the leading explanation rather than certainty. The name was then applied broadly. Groups who spoke Athabaskan languages and lived across the Southwest and northern Mexico came to be lumped together under it, even though they were politically and culturally distinct from one another. Writers and officials in English and Spanish adopted the term so widely that it stuck, and "Apache" became the umbrella label for several separate peoples.