petate and metate

[robert barkaloff]

Maria wrote:

>Hello, I visited Ian´s page and loved it.
>
>I understood xocoatl meant xoco, amargo/sour and atl agua/water. Agua
>amarga... me equivoco o la "l" vino de la fonética latina.
>
>I thought too the accent on tomatl should fall on atl.
>Can someone explain to me the literal meaning of petate and metate? I
>know they are a floor mat and a grinder but I want to analyze the words.
>
>I loved having the possibility of a sounding glossary. I am tempted to
>copy the idea. Thanks.
>
>María Dolores
>
>
>"We don´t see things as they are,
>We see things as we are."
>Anais Nin
>
>Dr. María D. Bolívar
>MBOLIVAR at san.rr.com
>
>
>
>
H everyone,

With regards to Maria Bolivar's question, here are some conjectures:

I believe "petate" is from "petl-atl," or "water rock," or, something
that can make stone feel as soft as water.  I think "metate" is from
"metl-atl," or "moon-water."  I'm not as convinced about this metaphor,
but I think maybe it has to do with creating the water (atl) from which
the moon (metl) is created -- the moon being "tlaxcalli (tortilla)."

It will be interesting to see others' notes on this.

Robert Barkaloff