zolcoatl. | Nahuatl Dictionary

zolcoatl.

Headword:

zolcoatl.

Principal English Translation:

a very poisonous snake (see Molina)

IPAspelling:

soːlkoːɑːtɬ

Alonso de Molina:

zolcoatl. biuora muy ponzoñosa.
Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, 1571, part 2, Nahuatl to Spanish, f. 25r. col. 1. Thanks to Joe Campbell for providing the transcription.

Attestations from sources in English:

For a painting of this snake (a type of rattlesnake) and a description, see the Digital Florentine Codex, Book 11, folio 81r. It is dark gray on its back and yellow on the underside of its head. Another image of the zolcoatl appears on folio 81v. On that page, the serpent is said to be able to fly and to sing like a quail, attracting--and then catching--quail. It is spotted, too, like a quail.
Digital Florentine Codex/Códice Florentino Digital, edited by Kim N. Richter and Alicia Maria Houtrouw, "Book 11: Earthly Things", fol. 81r, Getty Research Institute, 2023. https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/en/book/11/folio/81r/images/c75ecc7d-f... Accessed 31 October 2025.

themes:

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

Health, Sickness, Wellness, Medicine

Snakes, Serpents