acoatl. | Nahuatl Dictionary

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acoatl.

Headword:

acoatl.

Principal English Translation:

a water snake (see Molina); also called a tlilcoatl; the Florentine Codex has considerable text relating to this snake, perceived as a threat to humans (see attestations)

Orthographic Variants:

acovatl

IPAspelling:

ɑːkoːɑːtɬ

Alonso de Molina:

acoatl. culebra de agua.
Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, 1571, part 2, Nahuatl to Spanish, f. 2v. col. 1. Thanks to Joe Campbell for providing the transcription.

Attestations from sources in English:

Paintings and descriptions of the acoatl appear in Book 11, folio 73v, 74r, 74v and 74r of the Digital Florentine Codex. On 75r, this acoatl or tlilcoatl is wrapped around a tree trunk that is reminiscent of the rod of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. (SW)
See: Digital Florentine Codex/Códice Florentino Digital, edited by Kim N. Richter and Alicia Maria Houtrouw, "Book 11: Earthly Things", fol. 73v, Getty Research Institute, 2023. https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/en/book/11/folio/73v/images/2825e2ce-4... Accessed 29 October 2025. And for additional images, see: https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/book/11/folio/74r/images/0. https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/book/11/folio/74v/images/0.
https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/book/11/folio/75v/images/0.

IDIEZ morfema:

ācōātl.

IDIEZ traduc. inglés:

non-venomous water snake

IDIEZ def. náhuatl:

Ce tlamantli coatl tlen itztoc pan atl; mimiltic huan huehueyac; iixnexca tenextic, xoxoctic zo cafentic; quemman tecua axcanah temahmauhtih. "Maria quitzacanih ce acoatl quemman michitzquito; naman iztalihui pampa quimahmauhtih."

IDIEZ morfología:

ātl, cōātl.

IDIEZ gramática:

tlat.

themes:

Animals, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, Fish, etc.

Snakes, Serpents