English

Proper noun

Tenochtitlan

1. The capital of the Aztec empire (now Mexico City).

Translations

Classical Nahuatl

Pronunciation

Andrews (2003) writes Tenōchtitlan; Karttunen (1983) and Lockhart (2001) write Tenochtitlan.

• IPA^(key): [te.noːt͡ʃ.ˈtí.t͡ɬan]
• IPA^(key): [te.not͡ʃ.ˈtí.t͡ɬan]

Etymology

Aztec glyph for Tenochtitlan, consisting of a rock (te-) and a prickly-pear cactus (-noch-), the former underneath (-titlan) the latter.

The ligatured locative suffix -ti-tlan ("below, beneath, at the base of") is preceded by the element *Tenoch-, which is of disputed etymology. The name Tenochtitlan is represented in the native writing system in the form of the glyph shown here, which suggests Andrews' etymology (see below), unless one or both of the syllables te and noch are here used only phonetically in the glyph, with little indication of the actual meaning. In addition, while the short vowel in te- is undisputed, the vowel length of -noch-/-nōch- is disputed, as noted by Karttunen.

• Andrews (2003) gives tetl "rock" + nōchtli "prickly-pear fruit" + -ti- + -tlan "near", i.e. "At the Place Near Rock-cactus-Fruit".
• Lockhart (2001) says "the meaning and nature of tenoch- is not entirely clear despite general consensus that it refers to a type of cactus."
• Karttunen (1983) says "NŌCH-TLI 'fruit of the prickly pear cactus' is often cited as a constituent of this name, but it contrasts in vowel length."

Proper noun

Tenochtitlan

1. The capital of the Aztec empire (now Mexico City).

References

• Andrews, J. Richard. (2003) Introduction to Classical Nahuatl, Revised Edition, Univeristy of Oklahoma Press, p. 502.
• Karttunen, Frances. (1983) An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl, University of Texas Press, p. 225.
• Lockhart, James. (2001) Nahuatl as Written, Stanford University Press, p. 233.

Portuguese

Proper noun

Tenochtitlan f

1. Alternative spelling of Tenochtitlán

Spanish

Proper noun

Tenochtitlan m

1. Alternative form of Tenochtitlán