mictlan
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Central Nahuatl[edit]
Noun[edit]
mictlan
- The underworld of Aztec mythology.
Classical Nahuatl[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From miqui (“to die”) + -tlān (locative suffix indicating a place "around" or "below"). The term was equated with the Christian conception of hell following the Spanish conquest.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
mictlān (locative)
- The underworld of Aztec mythology.
- 1555, Alonso de Molina, Aqui comienca vn vocabulario en la lengua castellana y mexicana, f. 149r:
- Ynfierno lugar de dañados. mictlan. mictlactli. [sic]
- Hell, the place of the damned. mictlan. mictlantli.
- 1571, Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, f. 75r. col. 2:
- Ynfierno,lugar de dañados.mictlan. mictlantli.
- Hell, the place of the damned. mictlan. mictlantli.
- Idem, f. 56r. col. 2.
- Mictlan.infierno, o enel infierno, o al infierno.
- Mictlan. hell, or in hell, or toward hell.
- Mictlan.infierno, o enel infierno, o al infierno.
- (by extension) underworld (part of society engaged in crime or vice)
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
References[edit]
- Alonso de Molina (1571) Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, Editorial Porrúa, pages 75, 56