Nahuatl

American  

[nah-waht-l] / ˈnɑ wɑt l /

noun

Nahuatls, plural Nahuatl plural

1. a member of any of various peoples of ancient origin ranging from southeastern Mexico to parts of Central America and including the Aztecs.

2. a Uto-Aztecan language spoken by over half a million people mostly in central Mexico.

---

adjective

1. of or relating to the Nahuatl language or peoples.

Nahuatl British  

/ ˈnɑːwɑːtəl, nɑːˈwɑːtəl /

noun

1. a member of one of a group of Central American and Mexican Indian peoples including the Aztecs

2. the language of these peoples, belonging to the Uto-Aztecan family

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• Nahuatl
  plural
• Nahuatls
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Nahuatl

1815–25; < Spanish náhuatl < Nahuatl nāhuatl something that makes an agreeable sound, a second-language speaker of one's own language

Example Sentences

Tzahualli is a Nahuatl word for spiderweb, a common metaphor for fragility, interconnectedness, beauty and, not least, potential entrapment.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2025

Apart from the "talciguines" - Nahuatl for devilish men - one character represents Jesus.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2024

The gallery’s namesake is Nepantla, a Nahuatl word that means “in the middle,” which Prendez describes as the place where one heals, rejuvenates or creates.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 30, 2023

Popocatepetl, meaning "Smoking Hill" in the native Aztec language Nahuatl, is one of the world's most closely monitored volcanoes.

From Reuters • May 22, 2023

Because the sun could not hold out forever against its foes, one sixteenth-century Nahuatl account explained, it would one day inevitably lose—there was no getting around it.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann