The suffix "-il"—for those unfamiliar—is a Georgian passive participle suffix. So, we can confidently discard it and focus on the root "tek-".
The root is immediately recognizable—it corresponds to the Georgian word "თექა" (teka), meaning "felt." Hence, "tequili" would be literally "filtered". Could tequila have been filtered through felt?
The resolution came faster than expected. The need for felt as a filter—whether for tequila or anything else—became irrelevant upon discovering that "felt" in Spanish is "feltro," which directly translates to "filter."
And as you’ll find in any description of tequila production, filtration is an essential step.
0 Comments