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wind, breeze, movement of the air; when capitalized, the name of a deity or divine force of wind and linked or equated with Quetzalcoatl; and, when paired with yohualli, refers to the deity of the near and far; some will say it is bad spirit, a ghost; also, it is a calendrical marker and therefore a name for people born on a day with this marker (see Sahagún)
See an image that represents ehecatl in the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, ed. Stephanie Wood (Eugene, Ore.: Wired Humanities, 2020-present).
The unreduplicated ecatl means air. Ehecatl = The Wind (i.e., the divine force of the wind; what some might call a deity) (central Mexico, sixteenth century) In light of the association of the wind with a divine force (or deity), note how ehecapatli (or ehecapahtli) is what Karttunen defines as a "medicine against sorcery." Thus, sorcerers were believed to have the ability to use wind. (SW) vel iuhquin ecatoco = really as though they were being carried off by the wind (Tlatelolco, 1540–80) omochiuh chicahuac quiahuitl yhuan tesihuitl yca ehecacoatl = there was a great rainstorm with hail and a whirlwind mochiuh yeyecatli yuā cehzepayahuitli mocha huetzqui quajuitli yuā yolcame motolinique = ...the wind and snow kept coming. All the trees fell and the animals suffered. auh nimã. tlamahuiçoltica./ yehecaticpac. hoquimonamiquillico = and then, in a wondrous way they come on the wind to meet her (early seventeenth century, Central Mexico) totecujo, in tloque naoaque, in ioalli ehecatl = our lord of the near, of the nigh, the night, the wind (central Mexico, sixteenth century) Auh cujx tictlacaitta in tloque naoaque: in telpuchtli, in moiocoia, in titlacava in tezcatlipuca: ca iooalli, ca ehecatl = behold the lord of the near, of the nigh, the youth, Moyocoya, Titlacauan, Tezcatlipoca? For he is the night; he is the wind (central Mexico, sixteenth century) hecamecatl, xochimecatl onoc = the place of the winds, of the shattering winds, [where] reside the wind people, the flower people (central Mexico, sixteenth century) nelli tehoatzin tinetlaxonjuh, titlatlapitzal tonmuchioa in tloque, naoaque in totecujo in iooalli, in ehecatl = verily, thou art the seat, thou art the flute - thou hast become such for the lord of the near, of the nigh, our lord, the night, the wind (central Mexico, sixteenth century) ma necaltzaquallo. amoyac huel nenemiz. yn otlipan. ypampa. yn ihquac amo qualli yn ehecatl. quiztoz. yhuan no yxquich ica. ayac tlaquaz. ayac atliz. anoҫo cochiz. yn ixquich ica oc ceppa tlanecitiuh. ynic necitiuh tonatiuh = They should all stay in their houses; nor would anyone be permitted to go about on the roads because at that time a bad air would be passing by, and also during that time no one should eat, drink, or sleep until it should get light again, until the sun should appear (central Mexico, 1611) Quetzalcoatl: yn ehecatl ynteiacancauh yntlachpancauh in tlaloque, yn aoaque, yn qujqujiauhti. Auh yn jquac molhuja eheca, mjtoa: teuhtli quaqualaca, ycoioca, tetecujca, tlatlaiooa, tlatlalpitza, tlatlatzinj, motlatlaueltia. Auh yujn yn muchichioaia: ocelocopile, mjxtlilpopotz, hecanechioale, mizqujnechioale, tzicoliuhcanacoche, teucujtlaacuechcozque, quetzacoxollamamale, ocelotzitzile, icpaomjcicujle, hecacozcachimale, hecaujque, no poçulcaque. = Quetzalcoatl—he was the wind, the guide and road-sweeper of the rain gods, of the masters of the water, of those who brought rain. And when the wind rose, when the dust rumbled, and it crackled and there was a great din, and it became dark and the wind blew in many directions, and it thundered; then it was said: “{Quetzalcoatl} is wrathful.” And thus was he bedight: he had a conical ocelot-skin cap. His face was thickly smeared with soot. He was adorned with {spiral} wind and mesquite symbols. He had a curved, turquoise mosaic ear-pendant. He wore a gold neckband of small sea-shells. He had the quetzal-pheasant as a burden on his back. He had ocelot anklets with rattles. He wore a cotton bone {-ribbed} jacket. He carried the shield with the wind-shell design. He had the curved {inlaid} spear-thrower and also foam sandals. (central Mexico, sixteenth century) 1691 Acaxihuitl icuac cualoc in tonalli niman tlayohuac mochin onezque in cicitlaltin Auh in opeuh ipan chicueh hora visperas San Bartolome Jueves zan huel tlamaticaya atle ehecatl mochiuh (p. 764) = 1691 Reed year. At this time there was a solar exlipse. Then it got dark and all the stars appeared. And it began at 8 oc'clock on the even of (the day of ) St. Bartholomew, Thursday. It was very quiet; there was no wind. (Anales de Puebla y Tlaxcala, no. 1, part 2, 1519–1697) "1596 13 Tecpatl...no ihuan ipan ilhuitzin San Matheo omochiuh in Ehecatl huel chicahuac temamauhti ihuan quiahuitl" = "1596 13 Flint-knife (year)...Also, on the day of St. Matthew, a very strong and frightening wind ame up, and there was rain." (Anales de Diego García, 1502–1601)
azo ye nican huitz, azo ye nican icatihuitz in temoxtli, in ehecatl inic mitzanaz, inic mitzitzquiz = quizá ya viene quizá de repente venga el mal, el viento (centro de México, s. XVI)
axcan ypan xapato mo poa nahui cali tecpatl cali tochi acatl chihuitl cahuitl zipatli= ehecatl= cali= cuespali= cohuatl= miquistli= masatl= tochi= atl= iscuintli= osomatl= minali= acatl= ocelotl= quautli= coscaquautli= olin= tecpatl= quiahuitl= chochitl = ahoy en éste día sábado que se cuenta cuatro casa. Pedernal, Casa, Consejo, Caña, signos de los años en el Tiempo estos cuatro signos se cuentan. Lagarto, Mono, Viento, Yerba tocida, Casa, Caña, Lagartija, Tigre, Culebra, Aguila, Muerte, Aguila de collar, Venado, Movimiento, Conejo, Pedernal, Agua, Lluvia, Perro, Flor (Estado de Hidalgo, ca. 1722?)
huel chicahuac yeecac = corrió fuerte viento (Tlaxcala, 1662–1692)
Nohuiya[n] heecac huel totocac = por todas partes corrió viento muy fuerte (ca. 1582, México)
pedro Ecatl = Pedro Ehecatl (Tlaixpan, 1575)
It is very common that name glyphs are glossed Ecatl, and it is uncertain whether this really means Ehecatl (wind) or Ecatl (air, breath). The censuses of the mid-sixteenth century are replete with examples. See, for instance, the Matrícula de Huexotzinco.
amo iehecatl = sin hazer viento