Cusco - Spelling and Etymology

Spelling and Etymology

The aboriginal name of this city was Qusqu. Although it was used in Quechua, its origin has been found in the Aymara language. The word itself originated in the phrase qusqu wanka ('Rock of the owl'), attending to the foundational myth of the Ayar Siblings. According to this legend, Ayar Auca (Ayar Awqa) got wings and flew to the site of the future city and transformed into a rock to mark the possession of the land by his ayllu ('linage').

"Go fly over there (they say his wings were born), and by sitting down there take possession in the very seat where that milestone appears, because we'll then settle and live there". Ayar Auca, after hearing the words of his brother, rose on his wings and went to that place Manco Cápac commanded him, he sat there and turned himself into stone and became a possession mark, which in the ancient language of this valley is called cozco, therefore this place remained with the name of Cozco until today. —Juan Diez de Betanzos, Suma y narración de los incas.

The Spanish conquistadors adopted the local name, transliterating it into Spanish as Cuzco or less often Cozco. Cuzco was the standard spelling on official documents and chronicles at the colonial epoch. In 1976, the City Mayor of Cuzco signed an ordinance banning the traditional spelling and ordering the use of a new one, Cusco, in the municipality publications. Nineteen years later, in 23 June 1990, the local authorities officialized a brand new spelling instead: Qosqo.

In English, both s and z are accepted, as there is no international "official" spelling. The Encyclopædia Britannica uses "Cuzco".