telpochtli

Central Nahuatl

Noun

telpochtli

(Cholula) young man

Classical Nahuatl

Alternative forms

telpuchtli (obsolete spelling)

Etymology

Karttunen notes that tēlpōchtli (“young man”) and coordinate ichpōchtli (“maiden, young woman”) both form the plural by reduplicating the pōch- element, which suggests that *pōchtli, though not attested freely, is a stem in its own right, and that *tēl- acts as a modifier.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [teːɬˈpoːt͡ʃ.t͡ɬi]

Noun

tēlpōchtli (animate, plural tēlpōpōchtin)

A young man, male youth.
- 1555, Alonso de Molina, Aqui comienca vn vocabulario en la lengua castellana y mexicana, f. 162v:
  Mancebo quando crece. telpuchtli.
  A boy when he is older. telpuchtli.
- Idem, f. 172v.
  Moço de edad pequeña. telpuchtli.telpocatl.
  A boy of a young age. telpuchtli. telpocatl.
- 1571, Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, f. 81r. col. 2:
  Mancebo.telpuchtli.
  A male youth. telpuchtli.
- Idem, f. 96v. col. 1.
  Telpochtli. mancebo.
  Telpochtli. a male youth.
(when possessed) son
- 1571, Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, f. 71r. col. 2:
  Hijo, generalmente. tepiltzin. tetelpuch. Y las mu- / geres dizes,noconeuh.
  A son in general. tepiltzin. tetelpuch. And of women you say: noconeuh.

Derived terms

Related terms

tēlpōcatl

References

Frances Karttunen (1992) An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl, University of Oklahoma Press, page 221

Guerrero Nahuatl

Noun

telpochtli

young man.