Mexihco

Central Nahuatl

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [meːˈʃíʔ.ko]

Proper noun

Mexihco (locative)

  1. Mexico (a country in North America)
  2. México (a state of Mexico)

Derived terms

Classical Nahuatl

Etymology

Uncertain; popularly thought to derive from a compound of mētztli (“moon”) +‎ xīctli (“navel”) +‎ -co (locative suffix), which would yield *Mēxxīcco (literally “place on 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].

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [meːˈʃiʔ.ko]

Proper noun

Mēxihco (locative)

  1. Tenochtitlan (the former capital of the Aztec Empire; modern Mexico City)
    Synonym: Tenochtitlan

Derived terms

Descendants

  • → Spanish: México (see there for further descendants)

References

  • Frances Karttunen (1992) An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl, University of Oklahoma Press, page 145
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