Zacatecas

[John Sullivan]

Pídalo Susana,
Nican eltoc Zacatecas iachitlahtol.
1. "zaca-tl", "grass" + "-tlan" (relational word that forms names of cities) = "zacatlan", "grass city". And zacatlan, as the real name of the city of Zactecas is attested in local colonial Nahuatl-language manuscripts.
2. "zaca-tlan" + "-tecatl" (resident of a city) = "zacatecatl", "resident of zacatlan". The plural form is with "-tecah". So "zacatecah" is "residents of Zacatlan".
3. The Spaniards just substituted the Spanish "s" plural for the Nahuatl "h" plural. And the official name The Spaniards gave to the city was "Nuestra Señora de los Zacatecas".
John

Sent from my iPad

On Apr 5, 2012, at 3:55, Susana Moraleda <susana at losrancheros.org> wrote:

> Hola John,
> Podras aclararme por favor cual es la correcta etimologia del nombre Zacatecas?
> 
> Mil gracias!
> 
> Susana
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