Classical Nahuatl

Suffix

-yōtl

1. (added to nouns) -ness, -ity, -hood, -ship, -ism, -ry; forms abstract nouns.

   tahtli ‎(“father”) → tahyōtl ‎(“paternity, fatherhood”)

   tepitōn ‎(“something small”) → tepitōnyōtl ‎(“smallness”)

   tōltēcatl ‎(“artisan”) → tōltēcayōtl ‎(“artisanry”)

2. (added to nouns) forms concrete nouns with senses extended from the original.

   ācatl ‎(“cane”)→ ācayōtl ‎(“piping”)

   iztatl ‎(“salt”) → iztayōtl ‎(“brine”)

   yāōtl ‎(“enemy”) → yāōyōtl ‎(“war, warfare”)

Usage notes

This particle undergoes progressive assimilation (where a consonantal sound assimilates into the one that precedes it) in certain situations:

• After ch it becomes -chōtl

  oquichtli ‎(“man, husband”) → noquichcho ‎(“my semen”)

• After l it becomes -lōtl

  nāhualli ‎(“sorcerer”) → nāhuallōtl ‎(“sorcery”)

• After z it becomes -zōtl

  āpīztli ‎(“glutton”) → āpīzzōtl ‎(“gluttony, greed”)

Derived terms

References

• James Lockhart (2001) Nahuatl as Written: Lessons in Older Written Nahuatl, with Copious Examples and Texts, Stanford University Press, page 242