tlacatl

Central Nahuatl

Alternative forms

• (Tlaxcala): tlakatl

Etymology

From Classical Nahuatl tlacatl.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tɬaːkatɬ]

Noun

tlacatl (inanimate)

1. man
2. human

References

• Medina, Genaro. (1999) Curso de Nahuatl, University of Americas, Cholula, Puebla.

Classical Nahuatl

Tlācatl

Etymology

From Proto-Nahuan *tlaaka-tl, from Proto-Uto-Aztecan *taka-ta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈt͡ɬaː.kat͡ɬ]

Noun

tlācatl anim (plural tlācah)

1. (he or she is) a person, a human being
2. (he or she is) a slave (when possessed, cf. notlācauh (“he is my slave”)).
3. esteemed person, lord, lady
   • 1889, Bernardino de Sahagún, translated by Arthur J. O. Anderson, Charles E. Dibble, Florentine Codex‎^[2], volume 3, folio 11r:

     in oonia, njman ie ic quiteilhuja, nicnottiliznequi in tlacatl Quetzalcoatl: njman quilhuique, nepa xiauh veventone, mococoialtia in tlacatl, ticamanaz

     When he had gone there, he thereupon said to [the retainers]: “I wish to see the lord Quetzalcoatl.” Then they said to him: “Go hence, little old man. The lord is sick. Thou wilt vex him.”

   • 1649, Luis Laso de la Vega, translated by Lisa Sousa, Stafford Poole, C.M., and James Lockhart, The Story of Guadalupe Luis Laso de la Vega’s Huei tlamahuiçoltica of 1649, pages 82-83:

     ca huel yuh onicnolhuilito in tlacatl in noTecuiyo in ilhuicac Çihuapilli Santa Maria in Teotl Dios itlaçònantzin.

     Indeed I went to tell the lady my patron, the heavenly Lady, Saint Mary, the precious mother of God the deity

   • 2017, Louise M. Burkhart, transl., edited by Barry D. Sell, Abelardo de la Cruz, John Sullivan, and Justyna Olko, In Citlalmachiyotl. The Star Sign: A Colonial Nahua Drama of the Three Kings, page 49,73:

     CAPITÁN REYES: ¡Ma ximopaquiltihtiye, tlacatle, tlahtoanie!

     KINGS’ CAPTAIN: Be joyful, O master, O ruler!

Usage notes

The root of tlacatl serves as the suppletive root for the possessed forms of tlacohtli (“slave”).

Inflection

Possessive forms of tlacatl

	Singular	Plural
1st person	notlācauh	totlācauh
2nd person	motlācauh	amotlācauh
3rd person	ītlācauh	īntlācauh
impersonal	tētlācauh

Derived terms

• tlacatecolotl
• tlacateuctli
• tlacati
• tlacatlacuiloliztli
• tlacatlah
• tlacaxinachtli
• tlacayeliztli
• tlacayotl

References

• Andrews, J. Richard (2003), Workbook for Introduction to Classical Nahuatl, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, pages 256–257
• Karttunen, Frances (1983), An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl, Austin: University of Texas Press, page 253
• Lockhart, James (2001), Nahuatl as Written, Stanford: Stanford University Press, pages 235–236

Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl

Etymology

From Proto-Nahuan *tlaaka-tl, from Proto-Uto-Aztecan *taka-ta. Cognate to Classical Nahuatl tlācatl.

Noun

tlacatl (plural tlacameh)

1. man.

Zacatlán-Ahuacatlán-Tepetzintla Nahuatl

Etymology

From Proto-Nahuan *tlaaka-tl, from Proto-Uto-Aztecan *taka-ta.

Noun

tlacatl

1. man

References

• Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C. (2006), Pequeño diccionario ilustrado: Náhuatl de los municipios de Zacatlán, Tepetzintla y Ahuacatlán‎^[3], segunda edición edition, Tlalpan, D.F. México: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 23