<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">Listeros,<DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>Here is what I know about how the word "Teotihuacan" is put together. </DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>First, the ending "-can" is actually two pieces: the "-ca-" is the old preterite suffix, which is used as a ligature between what come before, a preterite agentive noun, and what comes at the end, in this case, the locative "-n". So, the idea is that in most cases (there is an exception, which I comment on below), when you see "-can", it will be stuck on the end of a preterite agentive noun.</DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>Second, the most common agentive formations that have "-can" stuck on them are made up of a noun, with one of three suffixes stuck on the end: "-eh" and "-huah" mean "owner of something", and "-yoh", also means "owner of something", but with the special sense of "covered with something". All three of these suffixes are preterite agentive formations, so they can take "-can".</DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>Third, in a few cases, "-can" is stuck on a regular noun stem.</DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>So finally, you have to ask yourself the question: what is the noun that comes before the "-can" in Teotihuacan. Is it the "teotihuah" which has the preterite agentive "-huah". In this case it would mean "place of the owner(s) of "teoti-tl" or teotih-tli", whatever that means. This is why I suggested originally that the "-ti-" may be a form of "tletl/tlitl/titl", "fire", giving "place of the owners of divine fire" or something like that. </DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>It is also possible that the noun before "-can" is a regular preterite agentive noun, "teotihuac" (coming from a hypothetical class 1 verb) or "teotihuah(qui)" (coming from a hypothetical class 4 verb). In any case I have never heard of these verbs.</DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>Finally, it is possible that this is a rare case of "-can" being stuck on a regular noun. In this case there would be a noun, "teotihua-tl", or teotihuah-tli". And I have never heard of these either. </DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>This is why the etymology of Teotihuacan is not transparent. And as far as I know, it has not been explained.</DIV><DIV>John</DIV><BR><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">John Sullivan, Ph.D.</FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Profesor de lengua y cultura nahua</FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas</FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Instituto de Docencia e Investigación Etnológica de Zacatecas, A.C.</FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Tacuba 152, int. 47</FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Centro Histórico</FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Zacatecas, Zac. 98000</FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">México</FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Oficina: +52 (492) 925-3415</FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Fax: +52 (492) 925-3416</FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Domicilio: +52 (492) 768-6048</FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Celular: +52 (492) 118-0854</FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><A href="mailto:idiez@mac.com">idiez@mac.com</A></FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px">www.idiez.org.mx<FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><SPAN></SPAN><SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></DIV></BODY></HTML>