Mictlān Tēcuhtli
/mik.t͡ɬaːn teːˈkuːt͡ɬi/noun
An Aztec deity associated with Mictlan, the underworld, and the dead.
Did you know?In Nahuatl, Mictlān is the underworld itself, so the title Mictlān Tēcuhtli ties divinity directly to the realm of the dead rather than to a distant “death god” abstraction.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Mictlān Tēcuhtli
“Lord of Mictlan, the underworld”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
mictlān
“place of the dead; underworld”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
miquiztli
“death”
Modern English
English
Mictlan
“The Aztec underworld, used in scholarly and popular contexts”
Modern English
English
Mictlān Tēcuhtli
“A name for the Aztec lord of the underworld”
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