Tlatoani
/t͡ɬaˈtoːaːni/noun
A Nahuatl ruler or king, especially the head of a city-state in the Aztec world.
Did you know?In Nahuatl political thought, the tlatoani was not just a ruler but the one authorized to “speak” for the altepetl, making language itself a form of sovereignty.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Nahuatl
Nah
tlātoāni
“ruler; one who speaks, especially the head of a city-state”
Earlier Nahuatl root
Nah
tlatoa
“to speak, say, command”
Proto-Uto-Aztecan
PUA
*taʔ
“to speak, say”
Modern English
English
tlatoani
“borrowed term for an Aztec ruler”