Etymology
The two elements in the Kan Ek' name represent surnames taken from the mother's and father's lineage respectively. In Petén during the Postclassic period a person belonged to two lineage groups. The individual's ch'ibal group was determined by their father's lineage and their ts'akab group was determined by their mother's lineage group. Individuals simultaneously inherited their surname and property from the father's lineage group and a surname, titles and religious leanings from the lineage group of their mother. Maya rulers were members of royal lineage groups and the kan element of the king's name was inherited from the royal ts'akab while the Ek' element was derived from the royal ch'ibal '. Due to this, all the Itza kings of Petén bore the name Kan Ek'. Among the Itza, kan ek' meant "serpent star"; it may also have had a secondary meaning of "sky star" (ka'an ek' ).
Read more about this topic: Canek
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)