Tomato
From SUALEX
The word "tomato" (Solanum lycopersicum, first attested in English in 1604 (Haugen 2009) comes from Nahuatl /toma-tl/ <tomatl> which refers to the "tomatillo" Physalis philadelphica (In Nahuatl, Solanum lycopersicum is called /ʃi-tomatl/ <xitomatl>).
It has been proposed (by whom?) that Nahuatl tomatl is related to the Nahua verb toma:wa "to become fat", but if this were the case the verb would be derived from the noun root. Rather it seems that this root is a loan into Proto-Nahuatl from an Otopamean language, perhaps Proto-Oto-Pamean *tembai, or perhaps proto-Matlatzinkan *tʃhɨmpa.
All Uto-Aztecan cognates are loans from Nahuatl dating to the colonial period, which can be seen because they include the Nahuan absolutive suffix, among them Hopi tomaati, tomaare Guarijío toma̱re <tomáre>.
Oto-pamean sources
- Proto-Oto-pamean:
- te-mbai
- (te-)mbai-tʃi
- Proto-Otomían: *tɛmpoʃɨ
- Acazulco Otomí: tɛ́mpɁoʃi
- Toluca Otomí: dɛmuʃí
- Ixtenco Otomí: damʌʃí
- Queretaro Otomí: dɛɁmtʃi
- Mezquital Otomí: dɔ̃dímǎʃi
- Mazahua: mbaremoʃʉ < *mba-temoʃʉ
- Proto-Matlatzinkan: mpa tʃhɨ / tʃhɨ mpa
- Matlatzinka Oxtotilpan: tʃhuwampa < *tʃhuwa-mpa
- Tlawika: ñipa ’tomato’, mpátshi ’tomatillo’
- Proto-Pamean: *tambai /*tapai
- Northern Pame: mbai/pái (Bartholomew), dapay (SIL)
- Chichimeco Jonaz: émbæɁæ
How to cite:
Pharao Hansen, Magnus. 2026. Tomato. In SUALEX: A Southern Uto-Aztecan Etymological Dictionary. https://sualex.cenzontle.org/index.php?title=Tomato (accessed 20 April 2026).