> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The etymology of "guacamole" - URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/guacamole/ - Published: 2025-03-18T15:00:45.000Z - Updated: 2025-09-19T20:18:55.000Z - Description: Where do the words “avocado” and “guacamole” come from? - Author: Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D. - Tags: Newsletter, etymology, Nahuatl, Aztec, Spanish When the Spanish began their conquest of Mesoamerica in 1519, the dominant language in the region near modern-day Mexico City was Aztec—or as it’s called in the language itself, Nahuatl (pronounced in English as /ˈnɑ.wɑ.təl/ and in the language itself as /ˈnaː.wat͡ɬ/). The *\-tl* at the end of that word is a suffix added to the ends of stems to create nouns. The root of the word is *nāhua-* ‘audible, intelligible, clear’. So *nāhuatl* literally means ‘speaking intelligibly’, referring to the Nahuatl language. The variety of Nahuatl spoken at the time of Spanish conquest is known as Classical Nahuatl. There are still about 1.7 million Nahuas who speak the language today, although the language has changed significantly over the last 500 years and has started to diverge into distinct languages. Now, the root meaning ‘avocado’ in Nahuatl is *āhuaca-*, and the suffixed version of that root is *āhuacatl*. The Spanish borrowed this word as *aguacate*, a folk etymology based on parsing the first part of *āhuacatl* as the Spanish word *agua* ‘water’. *aguacate* remains the word for ‘avocado’ for many Spanish speakers today. *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here!* However, some Spanish speakers, perhaps confusing *aguacate* for the somewhat similar-sounding *abogado* ‘lawyer’, began pronouncing the word as *avocado*, and that was the version later borrowed into English. Many people mistakenly believe that *avocado* originally meant ‘testicle’ in Spanish, but this has the history reversed. The Franciscan priest Alonso de Molina includes both ‘avocado’ and ‘testicle’ as definitions for *āhuacatl* in his 1571 dictionary of Nahuatl, but the ‘testicle’ meaning is just a euphemism (since avocados resemble testicles and often grow hanging in clumps of two). The original Spanish word *aguacate* itself underwent another folk etymologization among some English speakers, who believed that they were hearing the word *alligator* instead of *aguacate*—a plausible interpretation given that avocado skin does resemble alligator skin. Some British English speakers today still call avocados *alligator pears* (because they’re similar to pears in shape). Lastly, let’s return back to Nahuatl for a moment: Nahuatl also had a word *mōl-* ‘sauce’. When the noun suffix is added to a stem ending in /l/ it becomes *\-li* rather than *\-tl*, yielding the noun *mōlli*. That was borrowed by the Spanish as *mole*, and later by American English speakers as *mole* as well. But Nahuatl combined those two roots, *āhuaca-* and *mōl-*, into a single word *āhuacamōlli* ‘avocado sauce’ (again with the *\-li* version of the noun suffix added). When the Spanish borrowed this word, it became *guacamole*, and American English speakers borrowed the word *guacamole* from Cuban Spanish in the early 1900s. So that’s just a quick sampler of a few Nahuatl words that have found their way into English. Now that you know about the *\-tl* / *\-li* ending (which often lost its final /ɬ/ when borrowed into Spanish or English), it’s pretty easy to spot others as well: *chipotle*, *chocolate*, *coyote*, *axolotl*, *tomato* are a few more. An infographic with the complete etymology for *guacamole* and all its English relatives is at the bottom of the page. 💝 If you enjoyed this post, consider becoming a supporter to get even more content! ****🌟** ****Perks** **🌟** 📝 early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* ➕ bonus articles/videos 👀 early access to articles/videos 💝 support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [💝 Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) ## 📖 Recommended Reading [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-19.png)](https://amzn.to/3Rhqk8M?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3Rhqk8M?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798703807873?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-20.png)](https://amzn.to/4hqvpGM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hqvpGM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780520380370?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-21.png)](https://amzn.to/41SNCXv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/41SNCXv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/carousel-1.png) ## 📑 Sources - *Diccionario de la lengua española* \[*Dictionary of the Spanish Language*\] - Etymonline - Launey. 2004\. 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