tomatl

[Magnus Pharao Hansen]

The etymology John proposes is not viable, but has all the looks of a folk
etymology.

The xi: in* xi:tomatl* is long, the a: in *toma:wa* is long (but I believe
this is an effect of the addition of the verbal suffix -*wa*).
(*toma:wi*does in fact exist but has the same intransitive meaning as
* toma:wa*)

* xi:toma* "to peel to scrape" which has long i: and short a, has the exact
form we a looking for and does not require us to mysteriously drop -w- or
-k- as the proposed derivations with *xik*- or *xiw*- would.

Furthermore it is the case that red tomatos differ from green tomatoes in
the fact that they are usually peeled before being used in Mexican cuisine.
>From the green tomato only the husk is removed, but most frequently red
tomatoes are either boiled or toasted and peeled before being ground into
salsa. It could also simply mean that it doesn't have the husk as the green
tomato does, so that it is already naturally "peeled".

So on the weight of the evidence *xitoma *is the best fit for a relation to
*xi:tomatl*.

The problem is that 1. *xi:tomatl* also seems to be derived from *tomatl*.
2. that we dont know is *xi:toma* is derived from *xi:tomatl *or the other
way round.

I would propose the following solution:

There is a root xi: that has to do with peeling. It is found in the verb
xi:ma "to shave, to peel, to make smooth". Karttunen enters it in her
dictionary as the hypothetical root *xi:p- only found as a bound morpheme
and with the variant xi: meaning "peeling, flaying, shaving"

I think xi:tomatl is  derived from tomatl with that prefix. So that Michael
is right it is a tomato that is peeled.

Best,
Magnus





-- 
Magnus Pharao Hansen
PhD. candidate
Department of Anthropology

Brown University
128 Hope St.
Providence, RI 02906

*magnus_pharao_hansen at brown.edu*
US: 001 401 651 8413
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