Fwd: Re: A few words

Michael McCafferty mmccaffe at indiana.edu
Wed Jul 28 17:24:03 UTC 2010


Mr. Baert,

Quoting lahunik.62 at skynet.be:

> *     Pitzahua,
>
> John Sullivan in his Modern Vocabulary translated this as: to give change.
>
> Molina speaks of: emmagrecerse.
>
> Karttunen: to get thin
>
> Zan niman tlalli ixco hualpitzahuatiuh ixiuhyo, its foliage come out
> slender, just on the surface of the ground, is said of the plant
> Tzatzayanalquiltic, Sah.II.162.

Yes. Nice quote. Pitza:hua is classical Nahuatl has two forms, an
intransitive form which means, like you say, "to get thin, slender" and
a transitive form that means "to make something thin, slender". There
is also an intransitive form, pitza:hui, that also means "to get thin".

John's modern term involving money seems to derive from classical pitza:hua.
It's important to remember that the dialect John works with, from
Veracruz, is a *modern* dialect reflecting 500 years of language change.

>
> *     Chapolin,
>
> Grasshopper or cricket?

grasshopper

>
> The grasshopper (Gryllus devastator). Like the Latin name says a very
> devastating insect.
>
> The cricket (Gryllus campestris). An insect of the night. The male one makes
> that typical sound which Sahagun probably mentioned in his 11th Book pag
> 250. Spring at Chapoltepec. Is it possible that a town like Chapoltepec was
> found on a mountain full of devastating grasshoppers?
>
> The glyph of Chapoltepec shows a Gryllus, but is it the devastator or the
> campestris?

Molina also gives "langosta" (locust).

>
> *     Cactli, shoe (Launey).
>
> Except Launey no one seems to have a Nahuatl word for shoe.

Molina does. Karttunen's excellent modern dictionary also has the term.
I would recommend getting a copy of it. It's very helpful


Best,

Cacchiuhqui




>
> It is not mentioned in Sullivan's Vocabulary, nor in that of John Bierhorst
>
> Lahun Ik 62
>
> Baert Georges
>
> Flanders Fields
>
>
>
>




----- End forwarded message -----


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