Words From Nahuatl
For a list of words relating to with Nahuatl language origins, see the Nahuatl derivations category of words in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- Unless otherwise specified, Dictionnaire de la langue nahuatl classique is among the sources used for each etymology
Words of Nahuatl origin have entered many European languages. Mainly they have done so via Spanish. Most words of Nahuatl origin end in a form of the Nahuatl "absolutive suffix" (-tl, -tli, or -li, or the Spanish adaptation -te), which marked unpossessed nouns.
- Achiote †
- from āchiotl
- Atlatl †
- from ahtlatl
- Avocado †
- from āhuacatl, "avocado" or "testicle"
- Axolotl †
- āxōlōtl, from ā-, "water" + xōlōtl, "male servant"
- Cacao † and cocoa †
- from cacahuatl
- Chayote †
- from chayohtli
- Chia †
- from chian
- Chicle †
- from tzictli
- Chili †
- from chīlli
- Chocolate †
- Often said to be from Nahuatl xocolātl or chocolātl, which would be derived from xococ "bitter" and ātl "water" (with an irregular change of x to ch). However, the form xocolātl is not directly attested, and chocolatl does not appear in Nahuatl until the mid-18th century. Some researchers have recently proposed that the chocol- element was originally chicol-, and referred to special wooden stick used to prepare chocolate.
- Copal †
- from copalli
- Coyote †
- from coyōtl
- Epazote †
- from epazōtl
- Guacamole †
- from āhuacamōlli, from āhuaca-, "avocado", and mōlli, "sauce"
- Hoatzin †
- from huāctzin
- Jicama †
- from xicamatl
- Mesquite †
- from mizquitl
- Mezcal †
- from mexcalli metl and ixcalli which mean 'oven cooked agave.'
- Mole †
- from mōlli, "sauce"
- Nopal †
- from nohpalli, "prickly pear cactus"
- Ocelot †
- from ocēlōtl
- Peyote †
- from peyōtl . Nahuatl probably borrowed the root peyō- from another language, but the source is not known.
- Quetzal †
- from quetzalli, "quetzal feather".
- Sapodilla †
- from tzapocuahuitl
- Sapota †
- from tzapotl
- Shack †
- possibly from xahcalli, "grass hut", by way of Mexican Spanish.
- Sotol †
- from tzotolli
- Tamale †
- from tamalli
- Tule †
- from tōllin, "reed, bulrush"
- Tomato †
- from tomatl
Read more about this topic: Quechua Loanwords
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