The word "avocado" comes from the Nahuatl word āhuacatl ("testicle", a reference to the shape of the fruit).[4] Historically avocados had a long-standing stigma as a sexual stimulant and were not purchased or consumed by any person wishing to preserve a chaste image.[citation needed] Avocados were known by the Aztecs as "the fertility fruit". In some countries of South America such as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, andUruguay, the avocado is known by its Quechua name, palta. In other Spanish-speaking countries it is called aguacate, and in Portuguese it is abacate. The fruit is sometimes called an avocado pear (due to its shape) and alligator pear (by folk etymology, perhaps influenced by the rough green skin of some cultivars). The Nahuatl āhuacatl can be compounded with other words, as in āhuacamolli, meaning "avocado soup or sauce", from which the Mexican Spanish word guacamole derives.[edit]
