Mictecacihuatl
/mik.teː.ka.si.waːtɬ/noun
A Mexica (Aztec) deity traditionally described as the Lady of the Dead and guardian of the underworld.
Did you know?Mictecacihuatl was associated with Mictlan, the Mexica underworld, and later Día de Muertos traditions are often symbolically connected with her—though the modern celebration is historically syncretic, not a direct unchanged survival.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian period
Nahuatl
mictēca cihuātl
“Lady of the dead; a compound combining a form related to the dead or deceased with cihuātl, “woman””
Pre-Columbian period
Nahuatl
miqui / micqui
“To die / dead; the lexical source associated with the name’s death-related element”
Pre-Columbian period
Nahuatl
cihuātl
“Woman or female”
16th Century
Spanish records
Mictēcacihuātl
“The name recorded by Spanish chroniclers for a Mexica underworld goddess”
Modern English
English loanword
Mictecacihuatl
“The Lady of the Dead; a deity of Mexica mythology”
Explore more surprising origins