cernada

an alkaline solution (often made with lye or lime) in which maize grains have been cooked during nixtamalization; remaining liquid after nixtamalization; insoluble ash residue that remains after lye has been used for washing clothes

From Vulgar Latin *cinerata, from Latin cinis (“cold ashes”). Cognate with Galician cernada, Galician cenrada, Portuguese cenrada, Italian cenerata