Teotlalpan
/te.oːt͡ɬaːlˈpan/noun
A historical Nahuatl place-name for a region north of the Valley of Mexico, often associated with the Chichimec frontier.
Did you know?Teotlalpan was one of the traditional geographic regions surrounding the Valley of Mexico, whose name preserves the Nahuatl idea of land connected with the divine.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Uto-Aztecan
PUA
*teo-
“A reconstructed root associated with deity or sacred power; its exact relationship to Nahuatl teōtl is discussed cautiously by linguists.”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
teōtl
“God, deity, or sacred/divine power.”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
tlalli
“Earth, soil, or land.”
Classical Nahuatl
Nahuatl
-pan
“A locative suffix meaning on, in, or at a place.”
Pre-Columbian–Colonial Mexico
Nahuatl
Teōtlālpān
“A place-name understood as “on the divine land” or “land of the gods,” referring to a northern region of central Mexico.”
Modern English
English
Teotlalpan
“A historical geographic proper name retained in scholarship on Nahuatl and central Mexican history.”