Cusco comes from the Quechua word Qosqo. For some scholars it means cairn or stone cairns; or also milestone, signal, reference point, core. The chroniclers Inka Garcilaso de la Vega, Wamán Poma de Ayala and others define Qosqo, as the navel (center), relieving the political and administrative function of the capital city of Tawantinsuyo. In turn, the chronicler Femando de Montesinos reports that it comes from qosqos that means lots of dirt and stones, which was in the Watanay Valley, where Cusco is located.
Once, a teacher told me that he was walking in a small town a few hours from Cusco, and then an elderly lady told him “Qosqoman rishani” (I’m going to the Qosqo), he thought the lady was going to travel to Cusco, but she was referring to the center of that town.