Quetzalcoatl

[Ing. Juan Manuel Chavaría]

        Cuate no es precisamente "gemelo" o "twin"; el termino se utiliza para dos
niños nacidos en el mismo parto, pero no identicos, incluso pueden ser de
distinto sexo.

        Cuate tambien se utiliza para designar a un amigo...

-----Mensaje original-----
De: Nahua language and culture discussion
[mailto:NAHUAT-L at LISTS.UMN.EDU]En nombre de robert barkaloff
Enviado el: Jueves, 22 de Julio de 2004 02:15 p.m.
Para: NAHUAT-L at LISTS.UMN.EDU
Asunto: Re: Quetzalcoatl


Just off the top of my head, mecuate come from two root words: "metl-"
and "-coatl," and yes, "coatl" does also mean "twin."  Sometimes snakes
are shown with two heads, such as when they are used as belts in
sculpture -- I beleive this is a further play on the word for "twin" and
"snake."  Surprisingly, the modern meaning for "coatl" has survived and
is in common use in Mexican Spanish as "cuate," but only as "twin,"
while the word for snake has evolved, at least in some regions, to
"coa," as in "macoa" or "acoa" (atl-coatl).

Robert