nobility through lineage or blood line (a metaphor)
Alonso de Molina:
tlapallieztli. nobleza de sangre y de linage. metaphora. Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, 1571, part 2, Nahuatl to Spanish, f. 130v. col. 2. Thanks to Joe Campbell for providing the transcription.