From Nahuatl 'xocolatl' (bitter water) — the Aztec drink was unsweetened and spiced with chili, nothing like modern chocolate.
A food made from roasted and ground cacao seeds, typically sweetened and eaten as confectionery or used in drinks.
From Spanish 'chocolate,' borrowed from Nahuatl, though the exact Nahuatl source is disputed. The traditional derivation from 'chocolatl' is problematic because '-atl' (water) is a genuine Nahuatl morpheme but 'chocol-' has no clear Nahuatl etymology. One theory proposes 'chicolatl' from 'chicol-' (beaten, stirred) plus 'atl' (water), describing the frothed preparation. Another suggests influence from Yucatec Maya 'chocol' (hot) combined with Nahuatl 'atl' — a hybrid coinage reflecting the cultural mixing of Mesoamerican
The Aztec emperor Montezuma reportedly drank 50 cups of chocolate a day from golden goblets. The drink was nothing like modern hot chocolate — it was cold, bitter, spiced with chili peppers, and sometimes mixed with human blood in ritual contexts. The word 'chocolate' itself may mean 'bitter water.'