to do or say something on purpose, or to pass the time (see Molina)
Orthographic Variants:
çaniuh nicchiua
Alonso de Molina:
zaniuh nicchiua. (pret. zaniuh onicchiuh.) hazer odezir algo adrede, opor passar tiempo. Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, 1571, part 2, Nahuatl to Spanish, f. 14v. col. 1. Thanks to Joe Campbell for providing the transcription.