Mictlan
/ˈmiːktlɑːn/noun
In Aztec mythology, the underworld and the realm of the dead.
Did you know?In Nahuatl, Mictlan is built from mictli “dead person” plus the locative suffix -tlan, literally marking it as the “place of the dead,” not a Christian-style hell.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Mictlan
“the place of the dead; the underworld”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
mictli
“dead person, corpse”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
-tlan
“place of, among, by means of a locative suffix”
Modern English
English
Mictlan
“the Aztec underworld in English-language writing and scholarship”