Cihuāpipiltin
/siwaːpiˈpiltin/noun
A Classical Nahuatl plural term meaning noblewomen or women of the elite.
Did you know?The term is the plural of cihuāpilli, “noblewoman,” formed from cihuātl, “woman,” and pilli, a word associated with nobility or high status—not merely “child,” as it is sometimes oversimplified.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Nahuatl
Proto-Nahuatl
*pilli
“An ancestral form associated with an honored or high-status person; the precise earliest sense is debated.”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
cihuātl
“Woman or female.”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
pilli
“Noble person, child, or offspring, depending on context; in compounds it could denote rank or social status.”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
cihuāpilli
“Noblewoman; literally a woman associated with the pilli status.”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
cihuāpipiltin
“Noblewomen; the plural form, using pipiltin, the plural of pilli.”
Modern English
English
Cihuāpipiltin
“A historical Nahuatl term used in English-language scholarship for elite or noble Aztec women.”
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