Huehuetl
/weˈwet͡ɬ/noun
A tall, upright wooden drum used in traditional Aztec and other Indigenous Mexican music and ceremonies.
Did you know?In Nahua culture, the huehuetl’s voice accompanied dances, festivals, warfare, and sacred ceremonies, while its name linked it linguistically to the concept of old age or antiquity.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Nahuan
Proto-Nahuan
*wēwē-
“Old or aged; the ancestral root later reflected in Classical Nahuatl”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
huēhuē
“Old, aged, or ancient”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
huēhuētl
“Literally “old one”; a ceremonial upright drum”
16th Century
Spanish
huehuetl
“Spanish-recorded name for the Indigenous Mexican drum”
Modern English
English
huehuetl
“A traditional Aztec or Mexican drum”
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