xochimicqui

Classical Nahuatl

FWOTD – 12 April 2014

Etymology

From xōchitl (“flower”) +‎ micqui (“one that has died”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ʃoː.t͡ʃiˈmik.ki]

Noun

xōchimicqui (animate, plural xōchimicqueh)

1. a sacrificial victim, especially a prisoner of war offered in sacrifice
   • 1571, Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, f. 160r. col. 2:

     Xochimicque. captiuos enguerra, los quales eran / ſacrficados y muertos, delante de los idolos.

     Xochimicque. those captured in war; which were [later] sacrificed and killed before the idols.

References

• Alonso de Molina (2008) Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana (1571), Editorial Porrúa, page 160