Cacahuatl
/kakaˈwatɬ/noun
A Nahuatl word for cacao, especially the cacao bean or drink made from it.
Did you know?Cacao was associated with ritual, trade, and elite feasting in Mesoamerica, while the Nahuatl word cacahuatl helped transmit its name into Spanish and eventually English scholarship.
Etymological Timeline
Before 600 CE
Proto-Mayan
*kakaw
“Reconstructed word associated with cacao; its deeper origin remains debated.”
Classic Maya
Mayan
kakaw
“Cacao, especially the cacao bean or beverage.”
Postclassic Period
Nahuatl
cacahuatl
“Cacao; the cacao bean or a cacao-based drink.”
16th Century
Spanish
cacao
“Cacao, borrowed through Spanish contact with Mesoamerican languages.”
16th–17th Centuries
English
cacao
“The cacao tree, bean, or products made from it.”
Modern English
English
cacahuatl
“A historical or linguistic form referring to cacao in Nahuatl.”