telpochtli

Classical Nahuatl

Alternative forms

• telpuchtli (obsolete spelling)

Etymology

Karttunen notes that tēlpōchtli (“young man”) and coordinate ichpōchtli (“maiden, young woman”) both form the plural by reduplicating the pōch- element, which suggests that *pōchtli, though not attested freely, is a stem in its own right, and that *tēl- acts as a modifier.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [teːɬˈpoːt͡ʃ.t͡ɬi]

Noun

tēlpōchtli (animate, plural tēlpōpōchtin)

1. A young man, male youth.
   • 1555: Alonso de Molina, Aqui comienca vn vocabulario en la lengua castellana y mexicana, f. 162v.

     Mancebo quando crece.   telpuchtli.

     A boy when he is older.   telpuchtli.

   • Idem, f. 172v.

     Moço de edad pequeña.   telpuchtli.telpocatl.

     A boy of a young age.   telpuchtli. telpocatl.

   • 1571: Idem, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, f. 81r. col. 2.

     Mancebo.telpuchtli.

     A male youth. telpuchtli.

   • Idem, f. 96v. col. 1.

     Telpochtli. mancebo.

     Telpochtli. a male youth.

2. (when possessed) son
   • 1571: Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, f. 71r. col. 2.

     Hijo, generalmente. tepiltzin. tetelpuch. Y las mu- / geres dizes,noconeuh.

     A son in general. tepiltzin. tetelpuch. And of women you say: noconeuh.

Derived terms

• tēlpōchcalli
• tēlpōchchōtl
• tēlpōchconētl

• tēlpōcheh
• telpōchchihchīhua (verb)
• tēlpōchnēci (verb)

• tēlpōchnemi (verb)
• tēlpōchpan
• tēlpōchti (verb)

• tēlpōchtōntli
• tēlpōchtlamati (verb)
• tēlpōchtzintli

• tēlpōchyahqui
• tēlpōchyōtl

Related terms

• tēlpōcatl

References

• Frances Karttunen (1992) An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl, University of Oklahoma Press, page 221