Another Turn of the Screw: The Etymology of <<Quechua>> in Quechua and Aymara

Abstract

In this article I discuss the etymology of the name of the language (as well as the linguistic family) known as Quechua. I revisit a topic I had previously addressed (Cerrón-Palomino 2008b, I-2), in view of recent proposals questioning my original account (Itier 2015). The goal of this paper is twofold: on the one hand, to refute the suggested revisions made and, on the other hand, to tie up some loose ends left in my initial proposal. With this aim, the present discussion is organized as follows: in the first two sections, I offer a conjectural picture of the linguistic situation of the primordial Cuzco region before the birth of the Inca empire and the development of its socio-political structure, characterized by the successive confluence of at least three languages: Puquina, Aymara and Quechua; in the subsequent sections, drawing on linguistic and philological evidence from early Quechua and Aymara documentation, I deal with the origin (ex origine) and meaning (ex causa) of the name Quechua, rebutting the recent proposal referred to above. Finally, by way of conclusion, I summarize the most relevant aspects critically addressed in the discussion.