Tlalli
/ˈt͡ɬaɬ.li/noun
A Nahuatl word meaning "earth" or "soil."
Did you know?In Nahuatl, tlalli is the ordinary word for earth/soil, and it survives in many Mesoamerican place and personal names, preserving an ancient relationship between language and land.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Nahuatl
Nah
tlalli
“earth; soil; ground”
16th Century
Nah
tlalli
“earth; land; the ground underfoot, recorded by early colonial scribes”
Modern Nahuatl
Nah
tlalli
“earth; soil”
Modern English
English
tlalli
“a borrowed Nahuatl term used in linguistic and cultural contexts”