1. A Native American culture flourishing from about the 3rd century B.C. to the mid-15th century A.D. in south-central Arizona, noted for the construction of an extensive system of irrigation canals.
2. A member of this culture.

[From Papago huhugam, those who are gone, from huhug, to perish, disappear.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.