Tlacuiloa
/t͡ɬa.kwiˈloː.a/noun
A Classical Nahuatl verb meaning “to write,” “to paint,” or “to create images,” especially in the context of manuscripts and glyphs.
Did you know?The Nahuatl tlacuilo referred to a professional scribe-artist whose painted manuscripts recorded history, tribute, genealogy, ritual knowledge, and sacred cosmology.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian period
Nahuatl
tlacuiloa
“To write, paint, or produce images; the verb applied to the creation of painted or drawn records.”
Pre-Columbian period
Nahuatl
tlacuilōlli
“Something written, painted, or recorded; a manuscript or painted representation.”
15th–16th Century
Classical Nahuatl
tlacuilō
“A scribe, painter, or manuscript artist—the person who performs tlacuiloa.”
16th Century
Colonial Nahuatl
tlacuiloa
“Recorded by Spanish missionaries and scholars as a Nahuatl verb for writing and painting.”
Modern English
English
tlacuiloa
“Used in scholarship on Nahuatl language, Aztec manuscripts, and Mesoamerican writing systems.”
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