Nahuatl Borrowings in Mexican Spanish Vocabulary
| Mexican Word | Nahuatl Word | English Translation |
| Zacate | Saka-tl | Grass, Weeds |
| Zopilote | Tzopilotl | Vulture |
| Zapote | Tzapotl | A tropical tree and its fruit |
| Spanish | Nahuatl | English |
|---|---|---|
| chile | chilli | chili pepper |
| guacamole | ahuacamulli | guacamole |
| cacao | cacáhua | cocoa |
| atole | atolli | hot beverage made with corn flour |
What are some examples of Nahuatl words?
As a rule of thumb, a Spanish word for an animal, plant, food or home appliance widely used in Mexico and ending in "-te" is highly likely to have a Nahuatl origin. ^ "Taxodium mucronatum".
How did Nahuatl influence the development of the English language?
Because Nahuatl was written using Spanish orthography beginning in the 1500s, it is easy to trace the words that have been absorbed into English in the ensuing centuries, words that describe the plants, animals, and food of the New World.
Why is Nahuatl important to the Aztecs?
It was the language of the powerful Aztecs, whose culture dominated the region for centuries. Because Nahuatl was written using Spanish orthography beginning in the 1500s, it is easy to trace the words that have been absorbed into English in the ensuing centuries, words that describe the plants, animals, and food of the New World.
What is Nahuatl play?
Nahuatl play is the language that was spoken by the majority of the inhabitants of central Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest. It is still spoken today by more than a million Nahua people.
Does Mexican Spanish have Nahuatl?
Nahuatl has been spoken in central Mexico since at least the seventh century CE. It was the language of the Aztec/Mexica, who dominated what is now central Mexico during the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican history.
Is Nahuatl similar to Spanish?
What languages are related to Nahuatl? Nahuatl is, of course, not a linguistic relative of Spanish (although the two languages have influenced each other considerably). The Nahuatl family is a member of the Uto-Aztecan (Uto-Nahuatl) stock, so it is related, if distantly, to all the languages of that wide group.
How do you say Nahuatl in Spanish?
nah. - wah. - tl.na. - wa. - tɬná - hua. - tl.
What is Nahuatl in Mexico?
Nahuatl language, Spanish náhuatl, Nahuatl also spelled Nawatl, also called Aztec, American Indian language of the Uto-Aztecan family, spoken in central and western Mexico. Nahuatl, the most important of the Uto-Aztecan languages, was the language of the Aztec and Toltec civilizations of Mexico.
Are nahuas Aztecs?
Nahua, Middle American Indian population of central Mexico, of which the Aztecs (see Aztec) of pre-Conquest Mexico are probably the best known members. The language of the Aztecs, Nahua, is spoken by all the Nahua peoples in a variety of dialects.
Did the Mayans speak Nahuatl?
They all spoke, and still speak, a language called 'Nahuatl' and this is what unites them. Like English today or French or Latin in the past, Nahuatl spread widely into many other cultural and ethnic areas. By the time the Spaniards came, even the Maya spoke Nahuatl in addition to their native languages.
How do you say beautiful in Aztec?
Ticualtzin: (pronounced tik-wahlt-seen) Meaning “you are beautiful” in Nahuatl. Other versions of this name are Ticualnēzqui or Tiquetzaltic.
What does Nimitztlazohtla mean?
I Love You Baby: Nimitztlazohtla Noyollotzin (nee-meetz-tlah-zoh-tla no-yoh-loht-seen)May 23, 2021
How do you say friend in Nahuatl?
(i)cnīuh(tli). friend; almost always possessed.
What are 3 words that come from Nahuatl?
8 Words from Nahuatl, the Language of the AztecsIntroduction. Nahuatl is the language that was spoken by the majority of the inhabitants of central Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest. ... Chocolate. ... Coyote. ... Avocado. ... Tomato. ... Chili. ... Ocelot. ... Axolotl.More items...•Mar 18, 2022
Who speaks Nahuatl today?
The current Nahuatl language group is spoken in 16 states of the Republic: San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Tabasco, Guerrero, Morelos, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Federal District, Estado de México, Nayarit, Colima, Jalisco, Michoacán, Durango, Oaxaca, in addition from other states, although with fewer speakers for the ...Jul 22, 2020
How do you say goodnight in Nahuatl?
A collection of useful phrases in Nahuatl or Aztec, a Uto-Aztecan language spoken mainly in central Mexico....Useful phrases in Nahuatl.Englishnāhuatl / nawatlahtolli (Nahuatl)Good nightCualli yohualli Ma xicochi (May you sleep)55 more rows
What is a Nahuatl?
Nahuatl Borrowings in Mexican Spanish Vocabulary. smooth, flat griddle typically used in Mexico to cook tortillas, toast spices, sear meat. Mexican Sauce containing chiles, chocolate, peanutes and other ingredients used usually on chicken, pork or beef. means spoiled but is an alcoholic drink with the same name.
Where did the name Chiclets gum come from?
Chiclets gum's name comes from the Nahuatl word chicle! Nahuatl is related to the languages spoken by the Hopi, Comanche, Pima, Shoshone, and other peoples of western North America, as they all belong to the Uto-Aztecan language family. Nahuatl Wikipedia site with more words.
Most used Nahuatl words
Cacao came from the Nahuatl word cacahuatl and was used by the conqueror Hernán Cortés, who introduced chocolate to Europe in 1519 after his visit to the court of the Aztec king Moctezuma II, where he was served a bitter cocoa drink. Cocoa initially referred to parts of the plant: the seed, the pod, the bean, and the tree itself.
Nouns in Nahuatl
The word comes from the Nahuatl name mizquitl. They are small thorny trees or shrubs of the genus Prosopis that have flowers in axillary cylindrical spikes followed by large sugar-rich pods. The boardwalk at Anzalduas Park has become a hot spot for crossings and photo opportunities under palm trees and mesquite.
Adjectives in Nahuatl
In Nahuatl the word Toca is used to determine that we are covered or stained with impure substances.
When was Nahuatl written?
Because Nahuatl was written using Spanish orthography beginning in the 1500s, it is easy to trace the words that have been absorbed into English in the ensuing centuries, words that describe the plants, animals, and food of the New World.
What does chocolate mean in Spanish?
Chocolate also came to English through Spanish, but has a different Nahuatl root word: chocolātl, from the combined words chikolli meaning “hook,” probably referring to the beater used to mix chocolate with water, and ātl, meaning “water” or “liquid.”. As this etymology makes clear, chocolate originally meant “a beverage made by heating cocoa ...
What is a chipotle?
Its definition is “a smoked and usually dried jalapeño pepper, ” and jalapeño, meaning “from or of the Mexican city Jalapa” is also of Nahuatl origin (and the name of the city is sometimes spelled Xalapa ). Jalapeño didn’t enter English until the 1930s.
Where did the coyote come from?
The word coyote came to English through Mexican Spanish from the Nahuatl word coyōtl in the mid-1700s. The canine animal is native to North America, and prior to that time, many Europeans simply called them wolves; it is sometimes described as a wild dog or called the prairie wolf. It is a distinct species and is smaller than a wolf, but they are so closely related to other canines that crossbreeding sometimes takes place: a coydog is the offspring of a coyote and a feral dog. The wolf-coyote cross called coywolf also exists.
Where did the word "avacado" come from?
The English word avocado is a transliteration first used in the late 1600s of the Spanish word aguacate, which came from the Nahuatl name for the indigenous fruit, āhuacatl. A corruption of aguacate led to another term for the fruit, alligator pear, and because of the shape of the fruit, avocado pear is a term used in British English.
What is chili con carne?
The spicy stew made with beans, minced chilis, and usually meat called chili con carne came much later, in the mid-1800s, and is now also called just plain chili. The country called Chile (often spelled Chili in English until the 20th century) in South America is probably not named for the hot pepper.
What are cocoa beans called?
Those seeds are also called, somewhat confusingly, cocoa beans. The word cocoa was at first just a variant (and therefore a synonym) that first appeared about a century after cacao, and the two words have been used interchangeably to refer to the seeds, beans, and tree ever since.
