Chinampa

The word chinampa (first English attestation 1832 Haugen 2009), is from the Nahuatl china:mpa /china:mi-pa/ "fence-loc".

Chinamitl referring to a fence of sticks, reeds or stalks staked into the ground, seems to be analyzable as chi-nami-tl /point-wall-abs/. The root -nami- "wall" is not attested independently, but can be inferred from this word and from another word tenamitl meaning "stone wall" (te- meanig "stone, rock"). The chi- in turn is likely the same chi as in chima:lli "shield", which I believe refers to "points", i.e. the pointy parts of weapons. This comes from PCN *tsi "point".