quetzalli

[ANTHONY APPLEYARD]

Michael Mccafferty <mmccaffe at INDIANA.EDU> wrote:
> Does anyone know why a quetzal feather is "it is something stood up,"
> i.e., que:tzalli? tlaxtlahui, mochihuantin, Michael

It was likely originally a feather-workers' word meaning "any sort of long ornamental feather that is stiff enough to stand vertical and ornamental enough to be used as a feature in decoration", and then "THE SPECIAL sort of such ornamental feather".

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