Tlaxcalteca
/tɬaʃkalˈteka/noun
A person from Tlaxcala, especially a member of the Indigenous Nahua people of that region in central Mexico.
Did you know?Tlaxcala’s name is traditionally analyzed as coming from Nahuatl roots meaning “place of tortillas,” so the ethnonym Tlaxcalteca preserves a food-based identity at the heart of a people’s name.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Nahuatl
Nah
Tlaxcaltecatl
“A person from Tlaxcala; an inhabitant of the Tlaxcala region”
Classical Nahuatl
Nah
Tlaxcallan
“Tlaxcala, literally “place of tortillas” or “place of corn tortillas””
Colonial Nahuatl
Nah
tlaxcalteca
“Ethnonym for a Tlaxcalan person or people”
16th Century
Spanish
tlaxcalteca
“Name recorded by Spanish chroniclers for the people of Tlaxcala”
Modern English
English
tlaxcalteca
“A Tlaxcalan person; a member of the Indigenous people of Tlaxcala”