Coyote did not begin as an English word. English borrowed it from Spanish, where it appears as coyote. The Spanish word itself came from Nahuatl coyotl, an Indigenous language of Mexico that is strongly associated with the Aztecs and is still spoken today.
This kind of word history is common in the Americas. When Spanish speakers encountered animals, foods, and local objects that were new to them, they often adopted existing Indigenous names. Later, English borrowed some of those Spanish forms.
- coyotl became Spanish coyote, then English coyote
- tomatl helped give English tomato, through Spanish tomate
- chocolatl is an early Nahuatl source linked to English chocolate
- ahuacatl led to Spanish aguacate, which gave English avocado
So when you say coyote, you are using a word with a long path: Nahuatl to Spanish to English. That small history also reflects a larger story about language contact in Mexico and the spread of words across cultures.
