teocalli

American  

[tee-uh-kal-ee, tey-uh-kah-lee, te-aw-kah-yee] / ˌti əˈkæl i, ˌteɪ əˈkɑ li, ˌtɛ ɔˈkɑ yi /

noun

teocallis plural

1. a ceremonial structure of the Aztecs, consisting of a truncated terraced pyramid supporting a temple.

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teocalli British  

/ ˌtiːəʊˈkælɪ /

noun

1. any of various truncated pyramids built by the Aztecs as bases for their temples

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• teocallis
  plural

Etymology

Origin of teocalli

1605–15; < Nahuatl, equivalent to teō ( tl ) god + calli house

Example Sentences

One strong body headed by the priests got possession of the great teocalli.

From The True Story Book by Lang, Andrew

Hastily dismounting the Spaniards sent the animals back to their quarters, and then, renewing the assault, had little difficulty in dispersing the Indians and securing a passage to the teocalli.

From The True Story Book by Lang, Andrew

One large body, headed by the priests, made a stand upon the great central teocalli.

From By Right of Conquest Or, With Cortez in Mexico by Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)

It is a mass of basaltic rock nine feet in diameter and three in height, and was found in the great square in 1790, near the site of the large teocalli or pyramid.

From Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican Vol. 1 of 2 A Historical, Geographical, Political, Statistical and Social Account of That Country From the Period of the Invasion by the Spaniards to the Present Time; With a View of the Ancient Aztec Empire and Civilization; A Historical Sketch of the Late War; And Notices of New Mexico and California by Mayer, Brantz

Narvaez, badly wounded, was taken prisoner on the top of a teocalli; and in a very short time his army was glad to capitulate.

From The Story of Extinct Civilizations of the West by Anderson, Robert Edward