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Which capital and megacity's name translated means "the bellybutton of the waters of the moon"?

Question #104796. Asked by armindasantana.
Last updated Dec 26 2016.

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jmoskow star
Answer has 3 votes
jmoskow star avatar

Answer has 3 votes.
Mexico City

[ paulsquiz.com/free_quiz_questions/general_knowledge/Pauls_Quiz_203/ no longer exists ]

After New Spain won independence from Spain, it was decided that the new country would be named after its capital, Mexico City, which was founded in 1524 on top of the ancient Aztec capital of México-Tenochtitlan. The origin of the name of the city comes from the Nahuatl language, where Mextli or M?xihtli, a secret name for the god of war and patron of the Aztecs, Huitzilopochtli, in which case M?xihco means "Place where M?xihtli lives".

The word M?xihco derives from the m?tztli ("moon"), xictli ("navel", "center" or "son"), and the suffix -co (place), in which case it means "Place at the center of the moon" or "Place at the center of the Lake Moon", in reference to Lake Texcoco. The system of interconnected lakes, of which Texcoco was at the center, had the form of a rabbit, the same image that the Aztecs saw in the moon. Tenochtitlan was located at the center (or navel) of the lake (or rabbit/moon).



Response last updated by gtho4 on Oct 14 2016.
Apr 17 2009, 1:33 PM
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zbeckabee star
Answer has 4 votes
Currently Best Answer
zbeckabee star
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18 year member
11752 replies avatar

Answer has 4 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
With all due respect for the bellybutton, I'd be more inclined to lean towards this etymology:

The Nahuatl word Mexiko or Mexihko is composed of the root Mexi and the suffix -co that means "place" or "city." The full name of the city, Mexico-Tenochtitlan, means "the place of the Mexica in the cactus-stone," in reference to the image of the eagle perched on a cactus that grew from a stone, in the middle of Lake Texcoco. This image is represented in Mexico's coat of arms and flag.

link http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Mexicoweb/factfile/Unique-facts-Mexico6.htm

Response last updated by satguru on Dec 26 2016.
Apr 17 2009, 3:41 PM
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