Mexihco

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Central Nahuatl

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Mexihco (locative)

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

Derived terms

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Classical Nahuatl

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Etymology

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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

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  • IPA(key): [meːˈʃiʔ.ko]
  • Audio (Classical Nahuatl):(file)

Proper noun

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Mēxihco (locative)

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

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Spanish: México (see there for further descendants)

References

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