Ixpolihuitl (Verg26v)

Ixpolihuitl (Verg26v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This compound Nahuatl hieroglyph is a black-line drawing of the personal name or social status, Ixpolihuitl (“Disappeared” or “Missing”), attested here as a man’s name. The glyph includes an eye (ixtli), which is a phonetic indicator that the name or status begins with Ix-. Above the eye is a down feather (ihuitl), which is the phonetic indicator for the end of the name. The other elements appear to be a bundle of hair (tzontli?), which does not appear to be relevant to the name, and someone drinking water (coni? tlai?), which likewise seems irrelevant.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Further analysis of the elements of this compound seems warranted. Anastasia Kalyuta gives “Ruined” or “Disappeared” for the name or status of Ixpolihuitl. See her article, "Nomen est omen: Pre-Hispanic Nahua Naming Patterns," in Mexicolore, ed. Ian Mursell (2016), https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/language/prehispanic-nahua-naming-pa..., visited 21 February 2026. The Matrícula de Huexotzinco has a name or status that is bleak like this one, “Ca Zan Polihuiz” (He Will Completely Perish).

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss or Text Image: 
Gloss/Text Diplomatic Transcription: 

mīn. yxpolihuitl

Gloss/Text Normalization: 

Martín Ixpolihuitl

Gloss/Text Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Vergara, Codex (Verg)
Date of Manuscript: 

1539

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

near Tepetlaoztoc, near Tetzcoco

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
phonetic dimensions
Syntax: 
noun(s)
syllable: ix, is, iz, or itz (from ixtli or iztitl)
Writing Features: 
compound of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
4
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
undetermined as yet
Other Cultural Influences: 
Spanish/European
Keywords: 

desaparecer, perecer, arruinado, ojo, ojos, pluma, plumas, fonetismo, nombres de hombres, men’s names

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 

ixpolihui, to disappear, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ixpolihui
polihui, to disappear, to perish, to be defeated, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/polihui

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

posiblemente, “El Desaparecido”

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Available at Codex Vergara, folio 26v, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84528032/60.item.zoom, accessed 22 February 2026. The Vergara is associated with Tepetlaoztoc, in the larger region of Tetzcoco, c. 1539–1543.

Image Source, Rights: 

The non-commercial reuse of images from the Bibliothèque nationale de France is free as long as the user is in compliance with the legislation in force and provides the citation: “Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France” or “Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.” We would also appreciate a citation to the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/.

Orthography: 
"y" for i
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Ca Zan Polihuiz (MH627r)