copalxocotl

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Nahuatl copalxocotl.

Noun

copalxocotl (uncountable)

1. A plant used as soap in Aztec culture, probably Cyrtocarpa procera.
   • 2011, Harry Harrison, Captive Universe‎^[1], →ISBN:

     He filled a bowl with water and crumbled into it some copal-xocotl, the dried root of the soap tree.

   • 2014, Emily Vance, Captive, →ISBN, page 205:

     […] she mused […] sitting back and setting the copalxocotl on her skirt. She didn’t even seem to notice the water as it began soaking down toward her legs.

   • 2019, Marie Arana, Silver, Sword, and Stone: Three Crucibles in the Latin American Story, →ISBN, page 382, note 640:

     Aztecs often bathed twice a day with copalxocotl and washed their mouths with breath fresheners.