Huayna Capac

1 9.9

An Incan ruler who expanded the empire to its largest size and died in 1525

proper noun

: Huayna Capac

Huayna Capac expanded the Incan empire to its largest size before his death in 1525.

Examples

The death of Huayna Capac led to a civil war between his sons, weakening the Incan empire.
According to historians, Huayna Capac's rule marked the peak of Incan power in South America.
The great Incan ruler Huayna Capac expanded the empire significantly.
When did Huayna Capac die?
Huayna Capac expanded the Incan empire to its largest size before his death in 1525.
According to historians, Huayna Capac's rule marked the peak of Incan power in South America.
The death of Huayna Capac led to a civil war between his sons, weakening the Incan empire.

Surface Forms

Huayna Capac main

Morphology

Huayna + Capac

This is a proper name referring to a historical individual and not a compositional phrase; the parts 'Huayna' and 'Capac' are non-English lexical items with no transparent meanings. Knowing the constituent strings would not let a B1 learner infer the referent or that it names an Incan ruler, so the expression is idiomatic/opaque.

Etymology

Huayna Capac is a name from the Inca language: Huayna means 'young' and Capac means 'powerful'. He was a young, strong ruler who expanded the Incan empire to its greatest size, so the name helps you remember him as the young powerful leader who ruled until 1525.