Octli
/ˈɒkt.li/noun
A fermented alcoholic beverage made from the sap of the agave plant, especially in pre-Columbian and colonial Mexico.
Did you know?Among the Aztecs, octli—later widely called pulque—was associated with Mayahuel and the Centzon Totochtin, the “Four Hundred Rabbits” linked to intoxication and fertility.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Uto-Aztecan
PUA
*oko
“Juice, sap, or plant liquid; a reconstructed ancestor associated with Nahuatl octli.”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
octli
“Fermented agave sap or intoxicating drink.”
16th Century
Spanish
octli
“A Nahuatl name recorded by Spanish chroniclers for the indigenous agave beverage.”
16th–17th Century
Spanish
pulque
“The colonial Spanish term that increasingly replaced octli in general usage.”
Modern English
English
octli
“A scholarly or historical English term for the pre-Columbian agave beverage.”