mantelex

Classical Nahuatl

FWOTD – 29 September 2014

Alternative forms

• manteles (alternative or obsolete spelling)

Etymology

From Spanish manteles (“tablecloths”), ultimately from Latin mantēle. Borrowing plural Spanish nouns and reinterpreting them as singular was common in Classical Nahuatl (compare huācax (“cow”), pātox (“duck”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [manˈtéː.leʃ]

Noun

mantēlex (inanimate)

1. (it is) a tablecloth
   • 1555, Alonso de Molina, Aqui comienca vn vocabulario en la lengua castellana y mexicana, f. 164r:

     Manteles.   meſa tlapachiuhcayotl. tlatlapachiuhcayotl. / mantelex.

     Tablecloths. meſa tlapachiuhcayotl. tlapachiuhcayotl. mantelex.

   • 1571, Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, f. 82r. col. 1:

     Manteles. meſa tlapachiuhcayotl. tlatlapachiuhca- / yotl. manteles.

     Tablecloths. meſa tlapachiuhcayotl. tlatlapachiuhcayotl. manteles.

Derived terms

• mantēlextōn

References

• Alonso de Molina (1571) Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, Editorial Porrúa, page 82r