a counter (equivalent to 20); a bundle
V. quimilli chicuematl. C. V. quimilli nanamatl.
In tlacaquimilli, in tlacacacaxtli, oitlan tonac otoconmama. Inin tlatolli, itechpa mitoaya: in aquin tlatocatlalili, azo tecuteco. = A bale of people, a cargo of people, you have taken upon you and loaded on your back. This phrase was said of someone who had been instated as king and ruler.
The Florentine Codex, for example in Book 6, uses the pairing of quimilli and cacaxtli when speaking of the role of governing, of taking care of the people and the altepetl: tiqujmjle, ticacaxe = the one with the bundle, the carrying frame (tiquimile, ticacaxe)
auh in oconquetzteoaque in vei qujmjlli, in vei cacaxtli, in vei tlamamalli, in tlatconj = They departed leaving the large bundle, the large carrying frame, the great burden, the subjects (central Mexico, sixteenth century)
tehoatl itlan tonaquj in vei qujmilli, in vei cacaxtli, in tlatconj, in tlamamalonj = Thou art to devote thyself to the great bundle, the great carrying frame, the governed (central Mexico, sixteenth century)
ma ximuchichioa ma itlan xaquj in qujmjlli, in cacaxtli = prepare thyself, put thy shoulder to the bundle, to the carrying frame (central Mexico, sixteenth century)
tiqujmjle, ticacaxe tiez, tehoatl timalacaioaz, tehoatl tecauhiooaz, ticeoalloaz: motlan mocalaqujz in cujtlapilli, in atlapalli = thou art to be the one with the bundle, the carrying frame. Thou art to be the umbrage, thou art to be the shade, the shadow, beneath which the vassals are to enter (central Mexico, sixteenth century)
Auh yn tilmatli nicpia equimilli yasca catca yn notlaçotatcin = Y los tres líos de mantas que yo tengo en guarda, que mi padre dejó (Xochimilco, 1572)
Cuando se cuenta por veintenas, se usan tres desinencias, según los casos: tecpantli, ipilli, y quimilli. Quimilli se usa sólo para ropa: cenquimilli, onquimilli, yequimilli, etc., 20, 40, 60 trajes, etc.