Mexihco
Classical Nahuatl
Etymology
Uncertain. Possibly from the stems mētztli (“moon”) + xīctli (“navel”) + the locative -co, which would yield *Mēxxīcco (“at the place of the moon's navel”). The form Mēxihco would thus imply the degemination of [ʃː] and the dissimilation of [kk] to [ʔk], with the appearance of the glottal stop automatically triggering the shortening of the preceding [iː] to [i]. Some theories link the place name to metl (“maguey”) and cihtli (“hare”), though both these constituents are phonetically unviable.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [meːˈʃíʔ.ko]
Proper noun
Mēxihco (locative)
- Tenochtitlan; an altepetl and capital of the Aztec empire.
Synonyms
- Tenochtitlan
Derived terms
- mēxihcatl
- mēxihcopa, mēxihcopahuīc
Descendants
- Spanish: México
References
- Frances Karttunen (1992) An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl, University of Oklahoma Press, page 145