miccazayolin

Classical Nahuatl

Alternative forms

• miccaçaioli, miccaçayulin (obsolete spellings)

Etymology

From micqui (“a corpse”) +‎ zāyōlin (“a fly”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mik.kaː.saːˈjoː.lin/, [mik̚.kaː.saːˈjóː.lin̥]

Noun

miccāzāyōlin (animate, plural miccāzāyōlmeh or miccāzāyōltin)

1. (it is) a large bloodsucking fly known to transmit disease.
   • 1555, Alonso de Molina, Aqui comienca un vocabulario en la lengua castellana y mexicana, f. 176r:

     Moſca grande.  miccaçayulin.

     A large fly.  miccaçayulin.

   • 16C: Bernardino de Sahagún, Florentine Codex, book 11, chapter 5, paragraph 14

     inic mitoa miccaçaioli quil intonal in tomiccaoan

     It is called miccazayolin because it is said to be the fate of our corpses.

References

• Rémi Siméon (1885) Diccionario de la lengua náhuatl o mexicana, Siglo Veintiuno Editores, page 272