1. : a small, strolling, Mexican band consisting usually of trumpeters, guitarists, and violinists. also : a musician belonging to such a band. often used before another noun.

One states that it comes from the name of the wood used to make the dance platform. Another states that mariachi comes from the indigenous name of a tree called pilla or cirimo; yet another states that it came from an image locally called María H (pronounced Mari-Ache).

mariachi, small Mexican musical ensemble composed of a variety of mostly stringed instruments. In addition to referring to an ensemble, the term mariachi is also used for the individual performer of mariachi music or for the music itself.