Mexihco

Central Nahuatl

Alternative forms

• (Cholula): Mexico
• (Texcoco): Mexihko
• (Tlaxcala): Mexiko

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [meːˈʃíʔ.ko]

Proper noun

Mexihco (locative)

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

Derived terms

• mexihcatl

Classical Nahuatl

Etymology

Uncertain. Popularly thought to derive 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].

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [meːˈʃiʔ.ko]

• Audio (Classical Nahuatl):

  (file)

Proper noun

Mēxihco (locative)

1. Tenochtitlan; a city and capital of the Aztec empire.

Synonyms

• Tenochtitlan

Derived terms

• mēxihcatl
• mēxihcopa, mēxihcopahuīc

Descendants

• → Spanish: México
  • English: Mexico

References

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