Nahuatl
Americannoun
-
Nahuatls,
plural
-
Nahuatl
plural
-
a member of any of various peoples of ancient origin ranging from southeastern Mexico to parts of Central America and including the Aztecs.
-
a Uto-Aztecan language spoken by over half a million people mostly in central Mexico.
adjective
noun
-
a member of one of a group of Central American and Mexican Indian peoples including the Aztecs
-
the language of these peoples, belonging to the Uto-Aztecan family
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Aztecs’ language, a strand of Nahuatl, is still spoken by over one million indigenous people in rural villages, while many Aztec traditions quietly persisted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Whether you watch with the original Spanish track or the English dub, the dialogue is laced with phrases and words in the Nahuatl language, the native tongue of the Aztecs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 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
Ayocuan’s remarks cannot be fully understood out of the Nahuatl context, Leon-Portilla argued.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
The practice of the couvade was universal, in some form or other, amongst the Carib races, but was unknown amongst the peoples whom I have called the Nahuatls.
From The Naturalist in Nicaragua by Thomas Belt
Let us now return to the Nahuatls, and see if they present any affinities to the nations of the old world.
From The Naturalist in Nicaragua by Thomas Belt
The Nahuatls, in their peaceful dispositions and agricultural pursuits, are much more nearly allied to the Polynesians, and their present preponderance on the western coast favours the idea that they had a western origin.*
From The Naturalist in Nicaragua by Thomas Belt
The Nahuatls distinct from the Caribs on one side and the Red Indians on the other.
From The Naturalist in Nicaragua by Thomas Belt
Even in Columbus's time they were found making long voyages to ravage the villages of the peace-loving Nahuatls.
From The Naturalist in Nicaragua by Thomas Belt
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
