tlacuatzin

Classical Nahuatl

Alternative forms
  • tlaquatzin (obsolete)

Etymology

Equivalent to tlacuatl (“opossum”) +‎ -tzin (diminutive). Cf. Highland Puebla Nahuatl tacua̱tzi̱n[sic], Mecayapan Nahuatl tacuatzi̱n, Tetelcingo Nahuatl tlacuatzi.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): [t͜ɬaˈkʷat͜sin]

Noun

tlacuatzin

  1. opossum
    Synonyms: tlacuatl, tlacuaton, tlatlacuaton
    • [16th century, Bernardino de Sahagún, editor, Historia general de las cosas de nueva España, volume 3 (in Spanish), page 12v:
      Ay vna anjmalejo que se llama tlaquatl o tlaquatzin
      There is a small animal that is called tlaquatl or tlaquatzin]
    • [1651, Francisco Hernández, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus, seu plantarum animalium mineralium Mexicanorum historia (in Latin), Romae: Ex typographeio Vitalis Mascardi, page 330:
      ANIMAL eſt Tlaquatzin canis parui forma & magnitudine
      The Tlaquatzin is an animal with the shape and size of a small dog]

References
  • “tlacuatzin” in the Nahuatl Dictionary, University of Oregon, 2011.
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