a town or city surrounded by a wall (see Molina); see also tenamitl and tenantli
Alonso de Molina:
tename altepetl. villa cercada de muro. Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, 1571, part 2, Nahuatl to Spanish, f. 98r. col. 2. Thanks to Joe Campbell for providing the transcription.