teocalli

[ tee-uh-kal-ee, tey-uh-kah-lee; Spanish te-aw-kah-yee ]

/ ˌti əˈkæl i, ˌteɪ əˈkɑ li; Spanish ˌtɛ ɔˈkɑ yi /

a ceremonial structure of the Aztecs, consisting of a truncated terraced pyramid supporting a temple.

Origin of teocalli

1605–15; < Nahuatl, equivalent to teō(tl) god + calli house

Great bonfires shot up from the teocalli, and they could see the savages swarming to overwhelm them.

The Spanish Pioneers |Charles F. Lummis
On the teocalli of Mexico the Spaniards could count one hundred and thirty-six thousand human skulls piled in a horrid pyramid.

The Mythologies of Ancient Mexico and Peru |Lewis Spence
But it always reminds me of a Mexican teocalli, and the altar of sacrifice.

The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu |Sax Rohmer
Inside these were kept the idols of the gods to whom the teocalli was sacred.

The Mythologies of Ancient Mexico and Peru |Lewis Spence

Within the enclosure of the Teocalli there were forty other temples dedicated to various Aztec gods.

Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican Vol. 1 of 2 |Brantz Mayer

teocalli

/ (ˌtiːəʊˈkælɪ) /

any of various truncated pyramids built by the Aztecs as bases for their temples

C17: from Nahuatl, from teotl god + calli house