View source for Anahuac (Aztec)

==Boundaries==
According to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition|''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition]], Anáhuac (''sic'') is "limited by the traditional and vaguely defined boundaries of an ancient American empire or confederation of that name previous to the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish conquest]]."<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Anáhuac|volume=2|page=911}}</ref>

{{blockquote|The word is said to signify "country by the waters" in Nahuatl, the old [[Aztec]] language; hence the theory that Anahuac was located on the sea coast.  One of the theories relating to the location of Anahuac describes it as all the plateau region of Mexico, with an area equal to three-fourths of the republic, and extending between the eastern and western coast ranges from [[Rio Grande]] to the [[isthmus of Tehuantepec]].  A more exact and more commonly used description, however, limits it to the great plateau valley in which the city of Mexico is located, between 18°40' and 20°30'N latitude, about {{convert|320|km|mi|sp=us}} long by {{convert|120|km|mi|sp=us}} wide, with an average elevation of 2300 meters (7500 feet), and a mean temperature of 17°C (62°F).  The accepted meaning of the name fits this region as well as any on the sea coast, as the lakes of this valley formerly covered one-tenth of its area.  The existence of the name in southern [[Utah]], [[United States]], and on the [[Gulf Coast of Mexico|gulf coast of Mexico]], has given rise to theories of other locations and wider bounds for the old Indian empire.<ref name="EB1911"/>}}

One of the possible etymologies proposed for the name "[[Nicaragua]]" is that it is derived from any of the following Nahuatl words: ''{{lang|nah|nic-anahuac}}'', which meant "Anahuac reached this far", or "the [[Nahuas]] came this far", or "those who come from Anahuac came this far"; ''{{lang|nah|nican-nahua}}'', which meant "here are the Nahuas"; or ''{{lang|nah|nic-atl-nahuac}}'', which meant "here by the water" or "surrounded by water".<ref name="Choque">{{cite news|last1=Torres Solórzano|first1=Carla|title=Choque de lenguas o el mestizaje de nuestro idioma|url=http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2010/09/18/espectaculo/38089-choque-de-lenguas-o-el-mestizaje-de-nuestro-idioma|access-date=April 12, 2017|work=La Prensa|date=September 18, 2010|trans-title=Clash of languages or the mixing of our language|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=La raíz nahuatl de nuestro lenguaje|url=http://archivo.elnuevodiario.com.ni/cultural/132502-raiz-nahuatl-nuestro-lenguaje/|access-date=July 3, 2017|work=El Nuevo Diario|date=August 10, 2004|trans-title=The Nahuatl root of our language|language=es}}</ref> The first two explanations would have a bearing on the above issue of the borders.