The term guacamole was adopted from Spanish in the early 20th century, which in turn was derived from the Aztecs and their term ahuacamolli. This word is a blend of ahuacatl, meaning “avocado”, and molli, meaning “sauce” (also the origin of the Mexican sauce mole). The connection makes perfect sense. I have previously discussed ahuactl, which interestingly had a secondary meaning of “testicle” due to its visual resemblance. The ultimate root is believed to be Proto-Aztecan pawa, also denoting the fruit. On the other hand, molli likely followed a similar path, although a reconstruction is not available. The abbreviation guac (primarily used in North American informal language) emerged in the early 1980s, while the phrase holy guacamole adapted the existing holy moley, dating back to the 1940s, which referred to a magical herb from Greek mythology.
