petlahua.

Headword: 
petlahua.
Principal English Translation: 

to polish something, to make it bright and clear (see Molina); also, when speaking of agriculture, to clear the land for planting (see attestations)

Alonso de Molina: 

petlaua. nitla. (pret. onitlapetlauh.) bruñir, luzir o acecalar algo.
Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, 1571, part 2, Nahuatl to Spanish, f. 81r. col. 1. Thanks to Joe Campbell for providing the transcription.

Attestations from sources in English: 

to polish, to rub to brightness
Daniel Garrison Brinton, Ancient Nahuatl Poetry: Containing the Nahuatl Text of XXVII Ancient Mexican Poems (1887), 161.

themes: 
Agriculture, Gardens, Stockraising
Metals, Mining