[az-tek] 
| 1. | a member of a Nahuatl-speaking state in central Mexico that was conquered by Cortés in 1521. |
| 2. | Also called classical Nahuatl. the variety of Nahuatl that served as the medium of Aztec civilization, aboriginally written in a chiefly pictographic script. Compare Nahuatl (def. 2). |
| 3. | the Nahuatl language. |
| Az·tec (āz'těk') n.
Of or relating to the Aztecs or their language, culture, or empire. [Spanish Azteca, from Nahuatl Aztecatl, one who comes from the place of the cranes : áztatl, crane + -técatl, suff.] |
A Native American people who ruled Mexico and neighboring areas before the Spaniards conquered the region in the sixteenth century. Starting in the twelfth century, they built up an advanced civilization and empire. (See Hernando Cortés and Montezuma.)