What Atole means
Atole is a Mexican drink name of Nahuatl origin meaning "maize gruel". It comes from ātōlli (atole), containing ātl (water). It is pronounced ah-TOH-leh, and it is most associated with the whole country.
Wiktionary traces ātōlli back to Proto-Nahuan; the everyday reading as 'watered maize' is right in spirit, but the second element is not securely glossed. Dar atole con el dedo, 'to give someone atole with your finger', means to string them along.
Atole is one of the many Mexican food words formed in Nahuatl. Spanish borrowed it, and in several cases English borrowed it again from Spanish. See how Nahuatl builds words and the full list of Mexican food names.
This is a site about what Mexican words mean, so there is no recipe here. For the name itself: Agua fresca, horchata, atole, tepache, pulque, mezcal. Most Mexican drink names are the name of the plant or grain they are made from, and the agave spirits are named for the towns and regions that make them.
