In the vast world of linguistic curiosities, one of the most bizarre is that according to which the word “Guacamole“Would literally mean”testicles sauce“. But how true in this statement is it? The answer is: almost nothingeven if it has a linguistic fund that can generate confusion.
The term “avocado” derives from the word nahuatl āhuacatllanguage spoken by peoples nahua of Mexico. This word indicated the fruit of the avocadobut was also used as slang To refer to the testiclesin all likelihood for the similar form between the two.
A double sense like what we find in many modern languages, such as English, where words like “Nuts” can indicate both food and male anatomy. However the literal meaning of the word “Guacamole” It is not “testicles sauce”. It derives from the union of āhuacatl (avocado) e mōlli (sauce), therefore it simply translates how “Avocado sauce”.
A nice, but misleading legend
With the arrival of SpanishMany words Nahuatl were adapted to Iberian phonetics. As, āhuacatl he became Aguacatelosing over time its jergial meaning. The same happened for other terms: Coyotl he became coyote, Mizquitl it turned into Mesquite. In the case of Guacamole, the word maintained the reference to the fruit, but the vulgar sense fell into disuse.
The word mōlli, Furthermore, It is also interesting from a sound point of view, because it resembles the Spanish verb Moler (grinding), but is not etymologically connected to it. It is just a phonetic coincidence. To think that the term “guacamole” really means “testicles sauce” is alinguistic exaggeration. Even if the double sense existed in the original cultures, there is no evidence that that word has ever been used with this specific meaning.
In short, “Guacamole” has an interesting and somewhat ironic origin, but today indicates only a tasty avocado -based sauce And nothing more. It is a bit like arguing that the word “football” means “foot-thetesty” only because some terms may have double or ambiguous meanings.
