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noun, masculine

zompantli

/θomˈpantli/

noun, masculine/θomˈpantli/plural: zompantlis

in some Mesoamerican civilizations, a wooden rack or palisade used for the public display of human skulls

Borrowed from Classical Nahuatl tzompantli (“skull rack”), of debated composition. Perhaps from tzontli (“hair, head”) (compare tzontecomatl (“head, skull”)) + pantli (“flag, banner”), or simply (“row”).

zompantli — Spanish Dictionary | Passage