-yotl

Central Nahuatl

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [-joːtɬ]

Suffix

-yotl

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

Classical Nahuatl

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [-joːt͡ɬ]

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

Classical Nahuatl terms suffixed with -yotl

References

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