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ilhuicaatl. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
ilhuicaatl, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
ilhuicaatl in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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ilhuicaatl will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
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Central Nahuatl
Noun
ilhuicaatl
- ocean
Classical Nahuatl
Alternative forms
Etymology
Equivalent to ilhuicatl (“sky”) + ātl (“water”), because ocean water appears to meet the sky in the horizon.
Pronunciation
Noun
ilhuicaātl (inanimate)
- sea, ocean
- 16c, Bernardino de Sahagún, Florentine Codex, vol. 3. f. 223r. col. 1.
- llamase tan bien ylhuicaatl / que quiere dezir agua, que se iunto / conel cielo. Porque los antiguos habi / tadores deſta tierra, pensauan que / elcielo se iunta conel agua enlamar, como ſi fuese una casa, queel agua / ſon las paredes : yel cielo eſta sobre / las. Y poreſto llaman alamar ylhui / caatl, como si dixesen, agua que se / iunta con el cielo
- it is also called ylhuicaatl, which means "water that joined with the sky", because the ancient inhabitants of this land thought that the sky joined the water in the sea, as if it were a house, where the water is the walls and the sky is above them, and because of this they call the sea ylhuicaatl, as if saying "water that joins with the sky"
Synonyms
Derived terms
References
- J. Richard Andrews (2003) Workbook for Introduction to Classical Nahuatl, Revised Edition, University of Oklahoma Press, page 229