(a loanword from Spanish)
past, referring to an official who has served in a previous year
(a loanword from Spanish; an adjective)
The orthorgraphic variant pasato (as in Alcalte pasato) is attested in a seventeenth-century Guatemalan music manuscript.
The Nahuatl equivalent was "ocatca," which is also attested. One interesting thing is to see that former officials were given assignments by the cabildo. They had continuing community roles, which represents a continuity of pre-contact practices whereby a large group of elders had responsibilities in the communities. The Ordenanzas de Cuauhtinchan mention that the tribute labor supervisors were to be chosen by the former governor, alcaldes, and regidores. (Puebla, sixteenth century)
yc ypampa yn nitlanavatiya yn iquac pepenalo yevantin quichivazque yn governador yn alcalteme yn regidorme ocatca = Por esto ordeno que cuando sean escogidos lo hagan el gobernador, los alcaldes y los regidores pasados (Cuauhtinchan, Puebla, s. XVI)