tlacatl

Central Nahuatl

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Classical Nahuatl tlacatl.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [tɬaːkatɬ]

Noun

tlacatl (inanimate)

  1. man
  2. human

References

  • Medina, Genaro. (1999) Curso de Nahuatl, University of Americas, Cholula, Puebla.

Classical Nahuatl

Etymology

From Proto-Nahuan *tlaakatl, from Proto-Uto-Aztecan *taka-ta.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈt͡ɬaː.kat͡ɬ]

Noun

tlācatl anim (plural tlācah)

  1. (he or she is) a person, a human being
  2. (he or she is) a slave (when possessed, cf. notlācauh (he is my slave)).
  3. esteemed person, lord, lady
    • 1889, Bernardino de Sahagún, translated by Arthur J. O. Anderson, Charles E. Dibble, Florentine Codex[1], volume 3, folio 11r:
      in oonia, njman ie ic quiteilhuja, nicnottiliznequi in tlacatl Quetzalcoatl: njman quilhuique, nepa xiauh veventone, mococoialtia in tlacatl, ticamanaz
      When he had gone there, he thereupon said to [the retainers]: “I wish to see the lord Quetzalcoatl.” Then they said to him: “Go hence, little old man. The lord is sick. Thou wilt vex him.”
    • 1649, Luis Laso de la Vega, translated by Lisa Sousa, Stafford Poole, C.M., and James Lockhart, The Story of Guadalupe Luis Laso de la Vega’s Huei tlamahuiçoltica of 1649, pages 82-83:
      ca huel yuh onicnolhuilito in tlacatl in noTecuiyo in ilhuicac Çihuapilli Santa Maria in Teotl Dios itlaçònantzin.
      Indeed I went to tell the lady my patron, the heavenly Lady, Saint Mary, the precious mother of God the deity
    • 2017, Louise M. Burkhart, transl., edited by Barry D. Sell, Abelardo de la Cruz, John Sullivan, and Justyna Olko, In Citlalmachiyotl. The Star Sign: A Colonial Nahua Drama of the Three Kings, page 49,73:
      CAPITÁN REYES: ¡Ma ximopaquiltihtiye, tlacatle, tlahtoanie!
      KINGS’ CAPTAIN: Be joyful, O master, O ruler!

Usage notes

The root of tlacatl serves as the suppletive root for the possessed forms of tlacohtli (slave).

Derived terms

References

  • Andrews, J. Richard (2003) Workbook for Introduction to Classical Nahuatl, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, pages 256–257
  • Karttunen, Frances (1983) An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl, Austin: University of Texas Press, page 253
  • Lockhart, James (2001) Nahuatl as Written, Stanford: Stanford University Press, pages 235–236

Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl

Etymology

From Proto-Nahuan *tlaakatl, from Proto-Uto-Aztecan *taka-ta. Cognate to Classical Nahuatl tlācatl.

Noun

tlacatl (plural tlacameh)

  1. man.

Zacatlán-Ahuacatlán-Tepetzintla Nahuatl

Etymology

From Proto-Nahuan *tlaakatl, from Proto-Uto-Aztecan *taka-ta.

Noun

tlacatl

  1. man

References

  • Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C. (2006) Pequeño diccionario ilustrado: Náhuatl de los municipios de Zacatlán, Tepetzintla y Ahuacatlán[2], segunda edición edition, Tlalpan, D.F. México: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 23