Note 8 — INTRODUCTION.

The Nahuatl word for a song or poem is cuicatl. It is derived from the verb cuica, to sing, a term probably imitative or onomatopoietic in origin, as it is also a general expression for the twittering of birds. The singer was called cuicani, and is distinguished from the composer of the song, the poet, to whom was applied the term cuicapicqui, in which compound the last member, picqui, corresponds strictly to the Greek ποιητὴς, being a derivative of piqui, to make, to create.8 Sometimes he was also called cuicatlamantini, "skilled in song."