List of Spanish words of Nahuatl origin
Encyclopedia
Documented Nahuatl words in the Spanish language (mostly as spoken in Mexico and Mesoamerica) include an extensive list of words that represent (i) animals, (ii) plants, fruit and vegetables, (iii) foods and beverages, and (iv) domestic appliances.

Many of these words end with the absolutive suffix "-tl" in Nahuatl. This word ending --thought to be difficult for Spanish speakers to pronounce at the time-- evolved in Spanish into a "-te" ending (e.g. axolotl = ajolote). As a rule of thumb, a Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 word for an animal, plant, food or home appliance widely used in Mexico and ending in "-te" is highly likely to have a Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...

 origin.

Animals

  • Ajolote (Axolotl
    Axolotl
    The axolotl , Ambystoma mexicanum, is a neotenic salamander, closely related to the Tiger Salamander. Larvae of this species fail to undergo metamorphosis, so the adults remain aquatic and gilled. It is also called ajolote...

    )
  • Chapulín (Grasshopper
    Grasshopper
    The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...

    )
  • Cenzontle (Mockingbird
    Mockingbird
    Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the Mimidae family. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly and in rapid succession. There are about 17 species in three genera...

    )
  • Coyote
    Coyote
    The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...

  • Escamoles
    Escamoles
    Escamoles are the larvae of ants of the genus Liometopum, harvested from the roots of the agave or maguey plant in Mexico. In some forms of Mexican cuisine, escamoles are considered a delicacy and are sometimes referred to as "insect caviar"...

     (Ant
    Ant
    Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...

     eggs)
  • Guachinango (Red snapper
    Red snapper (fish)
    The red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus, is a fish found in the Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United States and, much less commonly, northward as far as Massachusetts. In Latin American Spanish it is known as huachinango or pargo...

    )
  • Guajolote (Turkey
    Turkey (bird)
    A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...

    )
  • Ocelote (Ocelot
    Ocelot
    The ocelot , pronounced /ˈɒsəˌlɒt/, also known as the dwarf leopard or McKenney's wildcat is a wild cat distributed over South and Central America and Mexico, but has been reported as far north as Texas and in Trinidad, in the Caribbean...

    )
  • Mapache (Raccoon
    Raccoon
    Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...

    )
  • Mayate (Beetle
    Beetle
    Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...

    )
  • Pinacate
    Pinacate
    Pinacate may refer to:* Pinacate beetle also known as the stink beetle or acrobat beetle* Pinacate, California, small settlement on the Santa Fe Railroad* Pinacate Mining District in Riverside County, California...

  • Quetzal
    Quetzal
    Quetzals are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family . They are found in forests and woodlands, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus Pharomachrus being exclusively Neotropical, while the single Euptilotis species is almost entirely restricted to western Mexico...

  • Tecolote (Owl
    Owl
    Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...

    )
  • Tepezcuintle
  • Tichalote
  • Tlacuache (Opossum)
  • Xoloitzcuintli (Mexican Hairless Dog
    Mexican Hairless Dog
    The Mexican Hairless Dog is a rare, hairless breed of dog, the size of which varies greatly. It is also known as Xoloitzcuintle .-History:...

    )
  • Zopilote (Vulture
    Vulture
    Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...

    )

  • Plants, Fruits and vegetables

    • Achiote (Bixa orellana)
    • Aguacate (Avocado
      Avocado
      The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...

      )
    • Ahuehuete (Taxodium mucronatum
      Taxodium mucronatum
      Taxodium mucronatum, also known as Montezuma Cypress, Sabino, or Ahuehuete is a species of Taxodium native to much of Mexico , and also the Rio Grande Valley in southernmost Texas, USA as well as Huehuetenango Department in Guatemala...

      )
    • Amate (a variety of fig)
    • Anacahuite (Cordia boissieri)
    • Anacua (Ehretia anacua
      Ehretia anacua
      Ehretia anacua is medium-sized tree found in eastern Mexico and southern Texas in the United States. It is a member of the borage family, Boraginaceae. One of its common names, Anacua, is derived from the Mexican Spanish word Anacahuite, as is that of the related Cordia boissieri, the Anacahuita...

      )
    • Cacao
    • Camote (Sweet potato
      Sweet potato
      The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...

      )
    • Cacahuate (Peanut
      Peanut
      The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...

      )
    • Chayote
      Chayote
      The chayote , also known as christophene, vegetable pear, mirliton, pear squash, christophine , chouchoute , choko , starprecianté, citrayota, citrayote , chuchu , chow chow , cho cho , sayote ,...

    • Chilacayote
    • Chile (Chili pepper
      Chili pepper
      Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...

      )
    • Ejote (Green bean
      Green bean
      Green beans , also known as French beans , are the unripe fruit of any kind of bean, including the yardlong bean, the hyacinth bean, the winged bean, and especially the common bean , whose pods are also usually called string beans in the northeastern and western United States, but can also be...

      )
    • Elote (Maize
      Maize
      Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

      )
    • Epazote (Dysphania ambrosioides)
    • Huizache (Vachellia farnesiana var. farnesiana)
    • Huitlacoche (Corn smut
      Corn smut
      Corn smut is a pathogenic plant fungus that causes smut disease on maize and teosinte...

      )
    • Jícama
      Jícama
      Pachyrhizus erosus, commonly known as Jícama , Yam, and Mexican Turnip, is the name of a native Mexican vine, although the name most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root. Jícama is one species in the genus Pachyrhizus. Plants in this genus are commonly referred to as yam bean,...

    • Jinamaiste
  • Jitomate
    Tomato
    The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

     (Tomato
    Tomato
    The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

    )
  • Marihuana
  • Mesquite
    Mesquite
    Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...

  • Milpa
    Milpa
    right|thumb|A typical modern Central American Milpa. The corn stalks have been bent and left to dry with cobs still on, for other crops, such as beans, to be planted. Milpa is a crop-growing system used throughout Mesoamerica...

  • Nejayote
  • Nopal
    Nopal
    Nopales are a vegetable made from the young cladode segments of prickly pear, carefully peeled to remove the spines. These fleshy pads are flat and about hand-sized. They can be purple or green...

     (Cactus
    Cactus
    A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...

    )
  • Ochote
  • Ocote (Pinus montezumae
    Pinus montezumae
    Pinus montezumae, known as the Montezuma Pine, is a species of conifer in the Pinaceae family.It is native to Mexico and Central America, where it is known as Ocote. The tree grows about 35 m high and 80 cm in diameter; occasionally it may reach a height of 40 m and diameter of...

    )
  • Olote Cob without the corn
    Corn
    Corn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...

  • Peyote
    Peyote
    Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote , is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico...

  • Quiote (the nectar-filled stem of the Agave
    Agave
    Agave is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies ; they are commonly known as the century plant....

     plant)
  • Tepescohuite (Mimosa tenuiflora)
  • Tomate
    Tomatillo
    The tomatillo is a plant of the nightshade family, related to the cape gooseberry, bearing small, spherical and green or green-purple fruit of the same name. Tomatillos are a staple in Mexican cuisine. Tomatillos are grown as annuals throughout the Western Hemisphere...

     (everywhere except Mexico—Tomato
    Tomato
    The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

    ; Mexico—Tomatillo
    Tomatillo
    The tomatillo is a plant of the nightshade family, related to the cape gooseberry, bearing small, spherical and green or green-purple fruit of the same name. Tomatillos are a staple in Mexican cuisine. Tomatillos are grown as annuals throughout the Western Hemisphere...

    )
  • Tule
    Tule
    Schoenoplectus acutus , called tule , common tule, hardstem tule, tule rush, hardstem bulrush, or viscid bulrush, is a giant species of sedge in the plant family Cyperaceae, native to freshwater marshes all over North America...

  • Xalapeño
    Jalapeño
    The jalapeño is a medium-sized chili pepper that has a warm, burning sensation when eaten. A mature jalapeño fruit is 2–3½ inches long and is commonly picked and consumed while still green, but occasionally it is allowed to fully ripen and turn crimson red...

     (Jalapeño
    Jalapeño
    The jalapeño is a medium-sized chili pepper that has a warm, burning sensation when eaten. A mature jalapeño fruit is 2–3½ inches long and is commonly picked and consumed while still green, but occasionally it is allowed to fully ripen and turn crimson red...

    ), from its place of origin, the town of Xalapa
    Xalapa
    Xalapa-Enríquez, commonly Xalapa or Jalapa, is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the year 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which it serves as municipal seat reported a population of...

  • Zihuapaste
  • Zacate (Grass
    Grass
    Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

    )
  • Zapote (Sapodilla
    Sapodilla
    Manilkara zapota, commonly known as the sapodilla, is a long-lived, evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An example natural occurrence is in coastal Yucatan in the Petenes mangroves ecoregion, where it is a subdominant plant species...

    )

  • Foods and drinks

    • Atole
      Atole
      Atole is a traditional masa-based Mexican and Central American hot drink. Chocolate atole is known as champurrado or atole...

       (a corn-meal drink)
    • Cajeta
      Cajeta
      Cajeta is a Mexican confection of thickened syrup usually made of sweetened caramelised milk.According to chef Rick Bayless, the name for cajeta came from the Spanish phrase al punto de cajeta, which means a liquid thickened to the point at which a spoon drawn through the liquid reveals the bottom...

       (caramelized milk)
    • Chicle
      Chicle
      Manilkara chicle is a tropical evergreen tree native to Mexico and Central America. The tree ranges from Veracruz in Mexico south to Atlántico in Colombia...

       (chewing gum)
    • Chocolate
      Chocolate
      Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...

    • Chipotle
      Chipotle
      A chipotle , or chilpotle, which comes from the Nahuatl word chilpoktli meaning "smoked chili pepper" is a smoke-dried jalapeño that tends to be brown and shriveled. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Mexican-American and Tex-Mex.Varieties of jalapeño...

       (smoked Jalapeño
      Jalapeño
      The jalapeño is a medium-sized chili pepper that has a warm, burning sensation when eaten. A mature jalapeño fruit is 2–3½ inches long and is commonly picked and consumed while still green, but occasionally it is allowed to fully ripen and turn crimson red...

      s)
    • Elote (Maize
      Maize
      Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

      )
    • Guacamole
      Guacamole
      Guacamole , is an avocado-based dip that originated in Mexico. It is traditionally made by mashing ripe avocados with a molcajete with sea salt. Some recipes call for limited tomato, spicy Asian spices such as white onion, lime juice, and/or additional seasonings.-History:Guacamole was made by...

    • Huaraco
    • Huauzontle
      Huauzontle
      Huauzontle, Chenopodium nuttalliae, is a Mexican vegetable related to the common American weed goosefoot, that vaguely resembles broccoli although the stems are much thinner and support fewer of the leaves....

    • Huitlacoche (Corn smut
      Corn smut
      Corn smut is a pathogenic plant fungus that causes smut disease on maize and teosinte...

      )
    • Mezcal
      Mezcal
      Mezcal, or mescal, is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from the maguey plant native to Mexico. The word mezcal comes from Nahuatl metl and ixcalli which mean 'oven cooked agave.'...

    • Mole
      Mole (sauce)
      Mole is the generic name for a number of sauces used in Mexican cuisine, as well as for dishes based on these sauces...

  • Nanche
  • Nixtamal (Hominy paste)
  • Pinole
  • Pozole
    Pozole
    Pozole is a ritually significant, traditional pre-Columbian soup or stew from Mexico. Pozole was mentioned in Fray Bernardino de Sahagún's "General History of the Things of New Spain" circa 1500 CE. It is made from nixtamalized cacahuazintle corn, with meat, usually pork, chicken, turkey, pork...

     (Hominy
    Hominy
    Hominy or nixtamal is dried maize kernels which have been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization.The English term hominy is derived from the Powhatan language word for maize. Many other Native American cultures also made hominy and integrated it into their diet...

    )
  • Pulque
    Pulque
    Pulque, or octli, is a milk-colored, somewhat viscous alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant, and is a traditional native beverage of Mexico. The drink’s history extends far back into the Mesoamerican period, when it was considered sacred, and its use was limited to...

  • Tamal
    Tamale
    A tamale — or more correctly tamal — is a traditional Latin American dish made of masa , which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. The wrapping is discarded before eating...

     (Tamale
    Tamale
    A tamale — or more correctly tamal — is a traditional Latin American dish made of masa , which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. The wrapping is discarded before eating...

    )
  • Tequila
    Tequila
    Tequila is a spirit made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco....

  • Tejocote
  • Tlacoyo
    Tlacoyo
    Tlacoyos are oval shaped fried or toasted cakes made of masa. They are similar to fresh corn tortillas, but are somewhat torpedo-shaped and fatter. Tlacoyos are stuffed with refried beans, cheese, fava beans, chicharron or other ingredients. Tlacoyos are often served as an accompaniment to soups...

  • Tlayuda
    Tlayuda
    Tlayuda, sometimes erroneously spelled Clayuda , is a handmade dish part of the traditional Mexican cuisine, consisting of a large and thin crunchy partially fried or toasted tortilla covered with a spread of refried beans, asiento , lettuce or cabbage, avocado, meat , Oaxaca cheese, and salsa.They...

  • Xoconostle

  • Names of places

    • Cancún
      Cancún
      Cancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...

    • Guatemala
      Guatemala
      Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

    • Cuzcatlán
    • Iztaccíhuatl
      Iztaccíhuatl
      Iztaccíhuatl , is the third highest mountain in Mexico, after the Pico de Orizaba, , and Popocatépetl, . Its name is Nahuatl for "White woman"....

       (a volcano)
    • Jalisco
      Jalisco
      Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...

    • Mexico
      Mexico
      The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

    • Oaxaca
      Oaxaca
      Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...

    • Popocatépetl
      Popocatépetl
      Popocatépetl also known as "Popochowa" by the local population is an active volcano and, at , the second highest peak in Mexico after the Pico de Orizaba...

       (a volcano)
    • Tabasco
      Tabasco
      Tabasco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa....

    • Tenochtitlán (former center of the Aztec Empire, now Mexico City)
    • Tlaxcala
      Tlaxcala
      Tlaxcala officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala is one of the 31 states which along with the Federal District comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipalities and its capital city is Tlaxcala....

    • Xalapa
      Xalapa
      Xalapa-Enríquez, commonly Xalapa or Jalapa, is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the year 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which it serves as municipal seat reported a population of...

    • Yucatán
      Yucatán
      Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....

    • Zacatecas
      Zacatecas
      Zacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas....

      , possibly
    • and countless other cities throughout Mexico and northern Central America

    Other terms, includes Home Appliances

    • Ayate
    • Azteca (Aztec
      Aztec
      The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...

      )
    • Canica (Marbles
      Marbles
      A marble is a small spherical toy usually made from glass, clay, steel, or agate. These balls vary in size. Most commonly, they are about ½ inch in diameter, but they may range from less than ¼ inch to over 3 inches , while some art glass marbles fordisplay purposes are over 12 inches ...

      )
    • Capulín
    • Chamagoso
    • Chapopote
    • Chichi (Breast
      Breast
      The breast is the upper ventral region of the torso of a primate, in left and right sides, which in a female contains the mammary gland that secretes milk used to feed infants.Both men and women develop breasts from the same embryological tissues...

      )
    • Chinampa
      Chinampa
      Chinampa is a method of ancient Mesoamerican agriculture which used small, rectangle-shaped areas of fertile arable land to grow crops on the shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico.-Description:...

    • Chiquihuite (hallow basket that holds tortillas)
    • Comal
      Comal (cookware)
      A comal is a smooth, flat griddle typically used in Mexico to cook tortillas, toast spices, sear meat, and generally prepare food. Similar cookware is called a budare in South America. Some comals are concave and made of "barro" . These are still made and used by the indigenous peoples of Mexico...

       (clay cookware)]]
    • Copal
      Copal
      Copal is a name given to tree resin that is particularly identified with the aromatic resins used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense and other purposes...

    • Cuate (Fraternal twin)
  • Escuincle (a child
    Child
    Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...

    )
  • Huarache
    Huarache (shoe)
    Huaraches are a type of Mexican sandal.Huaraches are pre-Columbian in origin, and are made from woven leather. The leather is traditionally hand-woven. The name "Huarache" is derived from the P'urhépecha language term kwarachi...

    s (Sandals)
  • Huipil
  • Hule (rubber or plastic)
  • Jacal (Shack
    Shack
    A shack is a type of small house, usually in a state of disrepair. The word may derive from the Nahuatl word xacalli or "adobe house" by way of Mexican Spanish xacal/jacal, which has the same meaning as "shack". It was a common usage among people of Mexican ancestry throughout the U.S...

    )
  • Jícara = clay Cup / calabash
    Calabash
    Lagenaria siceraria , bottle gourd, opo squash or long melon is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. For this reason, the calabash is widely known as the bottle gourd...

  • Macho = exemplar, one that is worthy of imitation
  • Malacate
  • Mecapal (Tumpline
    Tumpline
    /tump-lyne/A tumpline is a strap attached at both ends to a sack, backpack, or other luggage and used to carry the object by placing the strap over the top of the head. This utilizes the spine rather than the shoulders as standard backpack straps do...

    )
  • Mecate (Rope)
  • Metate
    Metate
    A metate is a mortar, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican culture, metates were typically used by women who would grind calcified maize and other organic materials during food preparation...

     (Grinding stones)
  • Mitote
  • Molcajete (Mortar and pestle
    Mortar and pestle
    A mortar and pestle is a tool used to crush, grind, and mix solid substances . The pestle is a heavy bat-shaped object, the end of which is used for crushing and grinding. The mortar is a bowl, typically made of hard wood, ceramic or stone...

    )
  • Nixtamal
  • Ocote
  • Otate
  • Paliacate
  • Papalote (Kite)
  • Pepenar
  • Petaca
  • Petate (sleeping mat of woven palm fiber)
  • Peyote
    Peyote
    Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote , is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico...

    a
  • Popote (Straw
    Straw
    Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and...

    )
  • Tenamaste
  • Tepetate
  • Tianguis
    Tianguis
    A tianguis is an open air market or bazaar that is traditionally held on certain market days in a town or city neighborhood in Mexico and Central America. This bazaar tradition has its roots well into the pre-Hispanic period and continues in many cases essentially unchanged into the present day....

     = open air market
  • Tiza
  • Tzompantli
    Tzompantli
    A tzompantli or skull rack is a type of wooden rack or palisade documented in several Mesoamerican civilizations, which was used for the public display of human skulls, typically those of war captives or other sacrificial victims.-Etymology:...

     (skull banner)

  • See also

    • List of English words of Spanish origin
    • List of English words of Nahuatl origin
    • Influences on the Spanish language
      Influences on the Spanish language
      The Spanish language has a long history of borrowing words, expressions and subtler features of other languages it has come in contact with.Spanish developed from Vulgar Latin, with influence from Celtiberian , Basque and Arabic, and Visigothic in the north of the Iberian Peninsula.-Formative...

    • Indigenous languages of the Americas
      Indigenous languages of the Americas
      Indigenous languages of the Americas are spoken by indigenous peoples from Alaska and Greenland to the southern tip of South America, encompassing the land masses which constitute the Americas. These indigenous languages consist of dozens of distinct language families as well as many language...


    External links

    • Nahuatl Wiktionary
      Wiktionary
      Wiktionary is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in 158 languages...

    • Nahuatl Wikipedia
      Wikipedia
      Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...

    The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
     
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