Etymology of ilna:miqui and ilcahua.

[Robert G. Comegys]

Thanks for the very clear explanation. To unhappily quote George Armstrong
Custer:
"Nits make lice". A nit is the egg of a louse. It is, of course, very small,
hence nitwit.

Regards, John Comegys


R. Joe Campbell wrote:  It is probably like "nit" in English;

> not many people can say what a "nit" is.  It shows up in "nitpicker" and
> "nitpicking", but what is a "nit".  Since what shows up before "-picker"
> in words like "cottonpicker", "cornpicker", "peapicker" (thank you, Ern),
> "applepicker", etc., is a noun, then "nit" must be a noun, but a noun that
> is extinct in the vocabulary of most speakers of modern English.  Although
> it still lives in "nitpicker", it is an obsolete morpheme in the English
> of most people today.
>