Tomato

The word "tomato" (Solanum lycopersicum, first attested in English in 1604Haugen 2009) comes from Nahuatl /toma-tl/ <tomatl>.

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.

Oto-pamean sources:

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

Proto-Otopamean:

• te-mbai
• (te-)mbai-tʃi