Kʼukʼulkan
/kʼukʼulˈkaːn/noun
A Maya deity traditionally depicted as a feathered serpent and associated with wind, rulership, and sacred power.
Did you know?Kʼukʼulkan is the Yucatec Maya counterpart of the feathered-serpent deity known in central Mexico as Quetzalcoatl, though the names come from different languages.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian period
Maya
Kʼukʼulkan
“A Maya divine name meaning approximately “Feathered Serpent.””
Classical Maya period
Maya
Kʼukʼul Kaan
“A related form interpreted as “feathered serpent” or “quetzal-feathered serpent”; the exact historical orthography varied by region and period.”
16th Century
Yucatec Maya
Kukulkan
“The name of the feathered-serpent deity recorded in colonial-era accounts and associated with Maya religious tradition.”
16th Century
Spanish
Kukulcán
“Spanish transcription of the Maya deity’s name.”
Modern English
English
Kʼukʼulkan
“A modern scholarly transliteration for the Maya feathered-serpent deity.”
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