Nahua
/ˈnaːwa/noun
A member of an Indigenous peoples of central Mexico, or a language of the Nahuan branch of Uto-Aztecan.
Did you know?Nahua is a self-designation from Nahuatl-speaking peoples, and its deeper origin is Indigenous rather than a borrowed European “occult” label, which makes it historically powerful in a different way: it preserves living cultural continuity.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian period
Nahuatl
nāhua
“A term meaning 'clear, intelligible, audible' or 'one who speaks clearly' in related Nahuan usage, from which ethnonyms and language names developed.”
16th Century
Spanish
Nahua
“Spanish colonial transcription of Indigenous self-names and related ethnolinguistic labels in central Mexico.”
Modern English
English
Nahua
“An Indigenous people of central Mexico or the Nahuan language group.”
Modern scholarly usage
English
Nahuan
“A larger linguistic and cultural label for languages and peoples related to Nahuatl.”