[Aztlan] Mayan words in English

[John F. Schwaller]

Cacao is a Nahuatl word, actualy "cacahuatl"  It existed long before the
arrival of the Spanish.  In all likelihood the Spanish picked it up from
the Nahua.  The -tl- is dropped when the word actually is used in some
way, leaving cacahua-  It has a root meaning of seed pod, applied to what
we know as cacao.  In Nahuatl there were other seed pods, the most famous
of which was the tlalcacahuatl, or earth-seed pod.  This one is the
peanut.  In Spanish the -tlal- part got lost ending in just cacahuate (or
cacahuete in Iberian Spanish today)


>> The word 'cocoa' originated from cacao, which is found in English as the
> word for the pod. It's an example of a spelling metathesis. The word
> 'cacao' (/kakaw/) came from Mayan all right, but before that it was a
> Mije-Sokean loan /kakawa/. I believe it became /kakawatl/ 'peanut' in
> Nahuatl after those arrived with the Spanish; Nahuatl experts please set
> me straight.
>

-- 
John F. Schwaller
President,
SUNY Potsdam
44 Pierrepont Ave.
Potsdam, NY  13676
schwallr at potsdam.edu