Quetzalcoatl

See also: Quetzalcóatl

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Nahuatl Quetzalcōātl (literally “quetzal-feather snake”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌkɛt.səl.kəʊˈæt.əl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /kɛtˌsɑl.koʊˈɑːt.əl/; enPR: kĕt-säl′kō-ät′l

Proper noun

Quetzalcoatl

1. The Aztec name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerica, one of the main gods of many Mexican and northern Central American civilizations.

Translations

Aztec deity

• Classical Nahuatl: Quetzalcōātl
• French: Quetzalcóatl (fr) m
• Greek: Κετζαλκόατλ (Ketzalkóatl), Κετσαλκόατλ (Ketsalkóatl)
• Portuguese: Quetzalcóatl
• Russian: Кетцалькоатль (Ketcalʹkoatlʹ)
• Spanish: Quetzalcóatl
• Yiddish: קעצאַלקאָאַטל (Ketzalkoatl)

Central Nahuatl

Noun

Quetzalcoatl

1. Quetzalcoatl, deity.

Classical Nahuatl

Alternative forms

• queçalcoatle (obsolete or historical spelling)

Etymology

From quetzalli (“a quetzal tail feather”) +‎ cōātl (“a snake”).

Quetzalcoatl (queçalcoatle) as depicted in the Codex Telleriano-Remensis, with the attributes of the god Ehēcatl (“wind”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [két͡saɬˈkóː(w)aːt͡ɬ]

• Audio (Central Nahuatl):

  (file)

Proper noun

Quetzalcōātl anim

1. (he is) the god Quetzalcoatl.
   • 1571, Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, Pt 2, f. 89r. col. 1:

     Quequetzalcoa. miniſtros de cierto ydolo que ſe llamaua quetzalcoatl.

     Quequetzalcoa. ministers of a certain idol they called Quetzalcoatl.

Derived terms

• ehquetzalcōātl
• quēquetzalcōah

Descendants

• Translingual: Quetzalcoatlus
• English: Quetzalcoatl
• Spanish: Quetzalcóatl