Aztec

UK: /ˈæztɛk/ US: (az′tek)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

Az•tec  (az′tek), n. 

1. Language Varieties, Archaeology a member of a Nahuatl-speaking state in central Mexico that was conquered by Cortés in 1521.
2. Language Varieties Also called classical Nahuatl. the variety of Nahuatl that served as the medium of Aztec civilization, aboriginally written in a chiefly pictographic script. Cf. Nahuatl (def. 2).
3. Language Varieties the Nahuatl language.

• Nahuatl aztēcah, plural of aztēcatl person from Aztlān, the legendary place of origin of the Aztecs
• Spanish azteca
• 1780–90

Az′tec•an, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Aztec / ˈæztɛk/ noun

1. a member of an indigenous Mexican people who established a great empire, centred on the valley of Mexico, that was overthrown by Cortés and his followers in the early 16th century
2. the language of the Aztecs
   See also Nahuatl

adjective
also: Aztecan

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Aztecs, their civilization, or their language

Etymology: 18th Century: from Spanish Azteca, from Nahuatl Aztecatl, from Aztlan, their traditional place of origin, literally: near the cranes, from azta cranes + tlan near