Star

Southern Uto-Aztecan words for star are built on a suite of roots, that in some words mean star, and in others mean Venus (as morning star or evening star), and in others refer to the stellar deities associated with the morning and evening stars. In general it appears that southern Uto-Aztecans distinguished between the big star (usually the morning star) and the "small stars" led by the evening star.

The word xolotl and its cognates.

Language	Word	Meaning	Reconstructed form
Eudeve	sibora	"star"	*sipo-raawɨ (proto-SUA)
Nahuatl	xo-lo:tl	"venus deity"	*sio-raawe-tɨ (proto-Corachol-Nahua)
Náayeri	xu-ra'abe-t	"star, venus deity"	*suu-raawe-tɨ (proto-Corachol)
Wixárika	xu-raawe	"star, venus deity"	*suu-raawe-tɨ (proto-Corachol)

The above is a set of cognate words all of which relate to stars and/or Venus as a deity; it indicates that the original root to which the *-raawɨ suffix was appended and which became the word xolotl in Nahuatl was *sipo. The Eudeve word represents the oldest form retaining the p (as b) and dropping the final syllable. In proto-Corachol-Nahuan the p is weakened to *h and then disappears as expected, and in proto-Corachol the *io sequence is leveled first to *o which then changes regularly to /u/. This process of elision of *p, palatalization of *s to /x/ and coalescence of *io to o:, is what produces the uncommon Nahuan sequence /xo:/.

Having identified *sipo as the likely SUA root to which *-raawɨ "predator" is appended, then we can try to find the meaning of this root. Here the words for star in the other Southern Uto-Aztecan languages may help us. What they seem to have in common is that they start with the sound /s/ or its equivalent reflex in each specific language, generally followed either by *u/*o or *i. This is how different the SUA words for ‘star’ look (the list is organized by subgroup):

Tepiman *huu, *siapoga-

hu’u "star" (Tohono O’odham)

siabag "star" (Pima Bajo)

xiáavogai "star" (Northern Tepehuan)

chi’ɨɨ "star" (Southern Tepehuán)

Tarahumara-Warihío *sopori

soporí "star" (Tarahumara de Samachique)

so’póri "star" (Guarijío de Montaña)

Cahitan *tsoki

chókki "star" (Mayo)

chóki "star" (Yaqui)

suawaka "Venus deity" (Yaqui)

Ópatan *sipora

síbora "star" (Eudeve)

Tubar *soo

Soo "star" (Tubar)

Corachol *surawe

xuraawe "star/venus deity" (Huichol)

ʂuura’abe "star venus deity" (Cora)

Nahuan *siitalimɨ

sītlalin "star" (Colonial Nahuatl)

xolo:tl "venus deity"