metlapilcoatl.

Headword:

metlapilcoatl.

Principal English Translation:

a very poisonous, venomous, toxic snake (see Molina)

IPAspelling:

metɬɑpiːlkoːɑːtɬ

Alonso de Molina:

metlapilcoatl. biuora muy ponzoñosa.
Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, 1571, part 2, Nahuatl to Spanish, f. 55v. col. 1. Thanks to Joe Campbell for providing the transcription.

Attestations from sources in English:

metlapilcoatl = a type of Mexican jumping pitviper; the image shows how the snake resembles the grinding stone called a metlapilli
Digital Florentine Codex/Códice Florentino Digital, edited by Kim N. Richter and Alicia Maria Houtrouw, "Book 11: Earthly Things", fol. 85v, Getty Research Institute, 2023. https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/en/book/11/folio/85v/images/0 Accessed 31 October 2025.

themes:

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

Snakes, Serpents