Tepoztecatl
/te.posˈte.katɬ/noun
A Nahua deity associated with pulque, fertility, and the town of Tepoztlán in central Mexico.
Did you know?Tepoztecatl was counted among the Centzon Totochtin, the “Four Hundred Rabbits,” a legendary collective of pulque deities whose personalities represented different forms of drunkenness.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian period
Nahuatl
Tepoztecatl
“A divine figure associated with pulque and the sacred landscape of Tepoztlán.”
Pre-Columbian period
Nahuatl
tepoztli
“Metal or copper; also associated in Nahuatl place-names with a distinctive metal object or tool, though the full place-name interpretation is debated.”
Pre-Columbian period
Nahuatl
Tepoztlan
“The place-name later rendered Tepoztlán; commonly interpreted as “place of tepoztli,” though scholars caution that its precise sense is uncertain.”
16th Century
Colonial Spanish
Tepoztecatl
“The name of a Nahua god recorded in Spanish colonial accounts and Indigenous-language sources.”
Modern English
English loanword
Tepoztecatl
“A proper name used in English-language writing about Nahua religion, mythology, and Mesoamerican history.”