Ocpayocan (Mdz23r)

The phonetic reinforcements in this compound glyph are notable. The road provides the "oh" that is a phonetic indicator for the -yoh suffix that indicates "having the quality of the preceding noun." Note the same role played in Itzteyocan (below, right). Beyond that, the glyph has multiple elements that start with "o," including ocpahtli, octli, and ocotl, and perhaps oppa. To explain the latter, it may be a coincidence that there are two roots popping out of the pulque, but they could lend the phonetic complement oppa (which means twice). Foam was (and still is) a prized aspect of various beverages in Mesoamerican cultures.

The footprints represent the noun for road (otli, providing a phonetic value for the "yo" element, which refers to a place that has a "lot of" something or is "full of" something. This differs from the footprint on top of a hill, which more typically indicates the verb pano (to cross over), providing the phonetic value of the locative suffix -pan, such as can also be seen in the compound glyphs for Tlaltizapan and Xocoyocan. [See Gordon Whittaker Deciphering Aztec Hieroglyphs, 2021, 100.]

Footprint glyphs have a wide range of translations. In this collection, so far, we can attest to yauh, xo, pano, -pan, paina, temo, nemi, quetza, otli, iyaquic hualiloti, huallauh, tetepotztoca, totoco, -tihui, and the vowel "o." Other research (Herrera et al, 2005, 64) points to additional terms, including: choloa, tlaloa, totoyoa, eco, aci, quiza, maxalihui, centlacxitl, and xocpalli.