cipactli
Appearance
Central Nahuatl
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Classical Nahuatl cipactli.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]cipactli (animate)
Classical Nahuatl
[edit]Etymology
[edit]This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]cipactli anim or inan (plural cipactin)
- (it is) an unspecified, mythological reptilian animal, hence sometimes translated as dragon; akin to an alligator or caiman.
- (it is) the first of the twenty day signs of the tōnalpōhualli; the disembodied head of this mythical animal.
- 16th c.: Codex Magliabechiano, f. 11r.
- nau ci pac tl. qúe / es. Vna cosa biba / q anda en agu / como. ser pezilla.
- nau cipactl. [sic] which is a living, aquatic snakelike creature”.
- 16th c.: Codex Magliabechiano, f. 11r.
Usage notes
[edit]- Authors differ on the precise translation of cipactli; and thus it is variously translated as “alligator,” “caiman,” “serpent,” and even “shark,” as is the case in Siméon. Séjourné asserts that the term probably does not correspond to any real animal, but adopts the translation “alligator”.
Synonyms
[edit]- (alligator): ācuetzpalin
References
[edit]- Rémi Siméon (1885) Diccionario de la lengua náhuatl o mexicana, Siglo Veintiuno Editores, page 111
- Laurette Séjourné (1981) El pensamiento náhuatl cifrado por los calendarios, Siglo Veintiuno Editores, pages 16, 211
Categories:
- Central Nahuatl terms derived from Classical Nahuatl
- Central Nahuatl terms with IPA pronunciation
- Central Nahuatl lemmas
- Central Nahuatl nouns
- Milpa Alta Central Nahuatl
- nhn:Reptiles
- Classical Nahuatl terms with IPA pronunciation
- Classical Nahuatl lemmas
- Classical Nahuatl nouns
- Classical Nahuatl animate nouns
- Classical Nahuatl inanimate nouns
- Classical Nahuatl nouns with multiple animacies
- Classical Nahuatl terms with quotations
- Classical Nahuatl terms using regularized orthography
- nci:Reptiles
- nci:Mesoamerican day signs