English

Noun

chalchihuitl ‎(plural chalchihuitls)

1. (mineralogy, South America) turquoise

Classical Nahuatl

Alternative forms

• chalchiuhtli

Etymology

Perhaps literally “heart of the earth”

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʃaːltʃiwitɬ/
• IPA^(key): [tʃaːɬ.ˈtʃí.witɬ]

Andrews (2003) and Karttunen (1983) write chālchihuitl; Lockhart (2001) writes chālchihuitl, but says "Some suspicion remains that the first i is long."

Noun

chālchihuitl

1. A precious green stone: greenstone, jade, turquoise.
   • 1524, Bernardino de Sahagún, Coloquios y doctrina cristiana

     ... auh no yehuan quitemaca ... in chalchihuitl, in quetzalli, in teocuitlatl.

     ... and they also give ... jade, plumes, gold.

Derived terms

References

• Andrews, J. Richard. (2003) Workbook for Introduction to Classical Nahuatl, Revised Edition, University of Oklahoma Press, p. 215.
• Karttunen, Frances. (1983) An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl, University of Texas Press, p. 45.
• Lockhart, James. (2001) Nahuatl as Written, Stanford University Press, p. 214.