Mixcoatl
/miʃˈkoː.aːtɬ/noun
Mixcoatl was a major deity of hunting, warfare, storms, and the Milky Way in Aztec and other Nahua traditions.
Did you know?In Aztec mythology, Mixcoatl was associated with the Milky Way and was honored through hunting rituals and ceremonies that could include human sacrifice.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Uto-Aztecan
PUA
*mixta / *ko
“Probable ancestral roots associated with cloud and serpent imagery; the exact prehistoric reconstruction is uncertain.”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
mixtli
“Cloud.”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
coatl
“Serpent or snake.”
15th–16th Century
Nahuatl
Mīxcoātl
““Cloud Serpent,” the name of a deity connected with hunting, warfare, storms, and the Milky Way.”
16th Century
Spanish
Mixcoatl
“Colonial Spanish transcription of the Nahuatl divine name.”
Modern English
English
Mixcoatl
“A deity of Aztec and broader Nahua mythology, commonly glossed as the Cloud Serpent.”