Mazatl
/ˈma.sat͡ɬ/noun
A deer in Nahuatl.
Did you know?In the Aztec calendar, Mazatl was one of the day signs, so the word lived not just as “deer” but as a piece of ritual timekeeping.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Uto-Aztecan
PUA
*mosa
“deer”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
mazatl
“deer”
16th Century
Nahuatl
mazatl
“deer; day sign in the sacred calendar”
Modern English
English
mazatl
“a Nahuatl loanword, usually referring to the word for deer in historical or cultural contexts”