Today I Learned (TIL)

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TIL that we don’t know who named the Earth. Unlike other planets there are no records of how it got its name. The name Earth, and variations of it, date back 1000+ years. (www.skyatnightmagazine.com)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Nahuatl calling the planet

Even the term "planet" here is noisy, as it implies knowledge of an orb floating and/or spinning in space.

Maybe a better (less modern scientific) term in this case would be "world", which could have been "what I have seen and have heard about, plus the regions beyond where dragons lie", as an equivalent to "one, two, three, many".

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Fair point - notlahtlacōl. "World" does seem more accurate.

I wouldn't be surprised if modern Nahuatl varieties used tlālticpactli to refer to the planet itself. (Still, my example is from Classical Nahuatl, so your correction is spot on.)