An alternative or variant spelling and name for chalchihuitl, the precious jade or turquoise-like stone valued in Aztec culture and Mesoamerica.
From Nahuatl 'chalchihuitl' adapted through Spanish colonial writings with an '-ite' mineralogical suffix, creating a more European-sounding variant.
Chalchuite shows how Nahuatl words got 'Europeanized' during colonial times—adding '-ite' (a mineral suffix) to an Aztec word, blending two language traditions!
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