Nahuatl

[ nah-waht-l ]

noun,plural Na·hua·tls, (especially collectively) Na·hua·tl.
  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.: Compare Aztec (def. 2).

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

Origin of Nahuatl

1
1815–25; <Spanish náhuatl<Nahuatl nāhuatl something that makes an agreeable sound, a second-language speaker of one's own language

Words Nearby Nahuatl

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Nahuatl in a sentence

  • Some languages, however, such as Iroquois and Nahuatl, employ the method of composition for much heavier work than this.

    Language | Edward Sapir
  • Up to 160,000 the Nahuatl system is as simple and regular in its construction as the English.

    The Number Concept | Levi Leonard Conant
  • The Cholulans were of Nahuatl origin and were semi-independent, yielding only a nominal allegiance to Montezuma.

  • The Canaque scale differs from the Nahuatl only in forming a compound word for 15, instead of introducing a new and simple term.

    The Number Concept | Levi Leonard Conant
  • On account of its importance, the Nahuatl system365 is given in fuller detail than most of the other systems I have made use of.

    The Number Concept | Levi Leonard Conant

British Dictionary definitions for Nahuatl

Nahuatl

/ (ˈnɑːwɑːtəl, nɑːˈwɑːtəl) /


noun
  1. plural -tl or -tls 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

  • Former name: Nahuatlan

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012