Citation link:
https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/taprobanian1887/0077
June, 1887.]
GLOSS ARIAL AFFINITIES OF CERTAIN WORDS.
both, by Vaeddas and ordinary Sinhalese, which
is probably connected with old English throte.
Karudei, ass.
The Sinhalese has this form as kaludae(wa) the 1
replacing r as in kalu, karu, black. The Sanskrit
and Tamil have khara, Persian char, Kurd kerr,
Canarese katte. The Sinhalese also uses kotalu-
wa and. buruwa, but not the Sanskrit gadhraba
or Telugu gadide, in any near form. Though of
course gadhraba in conjectural stages gadaraba,
katalawa, kotaluwa may be a connection between
them, yet it is too far-fetched to be credible
without many such links could be supplied.
Kaludaewa is 1 bear’ among hunters and the
more isolated, villagers of S. E. Ceylon.
Kattu, tie.
This Dravidian root is only found in Sinhalese
as kattadiya, a sorcerer who binds charmed
threads, as also kattandi, a form of the same
title, also kattuwa, a bunch or a parcel tied to-
gether, and a vulgar expression kattikara, ' to
tie? It must, however, be held doubtful whether
the root kat, ‘ to tie,’ existed formerly and is
replaced by modern banda,1 to tie,’ or whether the
words connected with ‘ kat’ have been imported
from foreign sources. Ban, raen, wael, lanu,
kamba, nula, the words for tying materials, such
as ropes, stems of creeping plants, or string,
show no affinity with kat, unless the obscure
kamba, 1 rope,’ possesses such. In all charms
and magic ceremonies however, kattu, ‘ tie,’ is
used by Sinhalese.
Kedu, to spoil.
In Tamil we also have kedu, ‘ ruin,’ and ketta,
‘ bad’; the Sanskrit has kheta ‘ bad,’ and kheda,
sorrow; the Sinhalese has kaetha ‘ bad,’ kaetha
kara1 to spoil,’ kaethe ‘ badness,’ and if the word
is Dravidian, and not truly a tatsama in Dravidian
and Indo-Germanic, the Sinhalese has the root
as firmly fixed as it is in the Tamil.
Ki (Gond), ‘ to do.’
This is Kota, ke, Canarese geyu, Telugu chey,
Tamil sey, Old Persian ki, Sanskrit kri, kara;
Marathi ke, past participle kela; Sinhalese kara,
past participle kala, past tense kele.
Kilei, a shoot.
This is in Sinhalese kisala, as from kihala, and
kisin or kisum is flower. The Servian galusa
seems connected through the fuller Sinhalese
form kisala, as if changed from kdasa, kalasa.
Sinhalese kalas, kalasa, kalaha, ‘ a flower vase,’
is perhaps related, and Caldwell thinks Tamil
killu (our English ‘cull’) is also connected, and
if so ‘ to cull’ may have been the primitive use
77
of the root, but wanting in Sinhalese. Sinha-
lese kaekula, a bud, kaekula tana, a bud-like
breast, seem connected, and the later idea shows
how Sanskrit kuchah, ‘breast,’ came from kusum,
‘ flower.’
Kindu, to stir up, to dig.
We have this in Sinhalese as kintula, a small
tick that burrows in the flesh and causes great
pain. The Greek kented, ‘ to goad,’ seems con-
nected. It is possible both gini the Sinhalese,
and agni the Sanskrit, for fire, come from the
same root.
Kira, kila, old.
This is Greek geras • Sanskrit jara is rather
decayed than old, and not I think connected ; the
Sinhalese preserves this in colloquialisms, but has
abandoned it in writings. We have kiri appa,
kiri amma, ‘ old father,’ ‘ old mother,’ for grand-
parents, and in the proverb ‘ kila wandura wage
paehila,’ ‘ matured like the old ape,’ we see the
Tamil form kila. In gora bang’ nakiya, ‘ skinny
old elder,’ the gora is a form of Greek geras, for
it means old, ‘ shrivelled with age,’ and is also
used, as kora, lameness arising from shrivelling
of the leg. Whether the root kora, gora, to
shrivel, allied to our ‘corrugate,’ and French
‘corroucer,’ is shrivelled with age, admits per-
haps of doubt j in Sinhalese it seems to have
such a sense primarily, rather than connection
with kara, ‘ rough.’ It is well in any case to
note the affinity of sound, whether intentional or
accidental.
Kon, king.
This title enters freely into the names of
Sinhalese of the upper class of the Goyiya caste,
as in Abayakon, Tennekon, &c., and denotes
descent from a chief or prince of a Ko Vaisya
tribe, doubtless the Paia. The Sinhalese form
in later use for prince was ku-mara, ku being
the root, and mar or mara the Dravidian honori-
fic. The Dravidian kd, Ostiak khon, was probably
the newer’ form, as ku is the primitive root,
which in Chaldea was reversed as Uk.
Kori, koli, fowl.
This is the Gond korh, Seori kor, ‘a hen,’
gogori, ‘a cock,’ Vogoul kore, Ostiak korek,
kurek, Persian khoros, Russian kur, with which
we must compare Sanskrit khura, ‘ scratch,’
Sinhalese hori, ‘itch,’ Tamil sori‘itch,’ kirn,
‘scratch,’ Tamil kur, Sinhalese kura, a spur, ‘a
spike,’ which indicates the name comes from
scratching, or as “ the spurred,” though Caldwell
thought otherwise.
A parallel word is Sanskrit kukkuta, Sinha-
GLOSS ARIAL AFFINITIES OF CERTAIN WORDS.
both, by Vaeddas and ordinary Sinhalese, which
is probably connected with old English throte.
Karudei, ass.
The Sinhalese has this form as kaludae(wa) the 1
replacing r as in kalu, karu, black. The Sanskrit
and Tamil have khara, Persian char, Kurd kerr,
Canarese katte. The Sinhalese also uses kotalu-
wa and. buruwa, but not the Sanskrit gadhraba
or Telugu gadide, in any near form. Though of
course gadhraba in conjectural stages gadaraba,
katalawa, kotaluwa may be a connection between
them, yet it is too far-fetched to be credible
without many such links could be supplied.
Kaludaewa is 1 bear’ among hunters and the
more isolated, villagers of S. E. Ceylon.
Kattu, tie.
This Dravidian root is only found in Sinhalese
as kattadiya, a sorcerer who binds charmed
threads, as also kattandi, a form of the same
title, also kattuwa, a bunch or a parcel tied to-
gether, and a vulgar expression kattikara, ' to
tie? It must, however, be held doubtful whether
the root kat, ‘ to tie,’ existed formerly and is
replaced by modern banda,1 to tie,’ or whether the
words connected with ‘ kat’ have been imported
from foreign sources. Ban, raen, wael, lanu,
kamba, nula, the words for tying materials, such
as ropes, stems of creeping plants, or string,
show no affinity with kat, unless the obscure
kamba, 1 rope,’ possesses such. In all charms
and magic ceremonies however, kattu, ‘ tie,’ is
used by Sinhalese.
Kedu, to spoil.
In Tamil we also have kedu, ‘ ruin,’ and ketta,
‘ bad’; the Sanskrit has kheta ‘ bad,’ and kheda,
sorrow; the Sinhalese has kaetha ‘ bad,’ kaetha
kara1 to spoil,’ kaethe ‘ badness,’ and if the word
is Dravidian, and not truly a tatsama in Dravidian
and Indo-Germanic, the Sinhalese has the root
as firmly fixed as it is in the Tamil.
Ki (Gond), ‘ to do.’
This is Kota, ke, Canarese geyu, Telugu chey,
Tamil sey, Old Persian ki, Sanskrit kri, kara;
Marathi ke, past participle kela; Sinhalese kara,
past participle kala, past tense kele.
Kilei, a shoot.
This is in Sinhalese kisala, as from kihala, and
kisin or kisum is flower. The Servian galusa
seems connected through the fuller Sinhalese
form kisala, as if changed from kdasa, kalasa.
Sinhalese kalas, kalasa, kalaha, ‘ a flower vase,’
is perhaps related, and Caldwell thinks Tamil
killu (our English ‘cull’) is also connected, and
if so ‘ to cull’ may have been the primitive use
77
of the root, but wanting in Sinhalese. Sinha-
lese kaekula, a bud, kaekula tana, a bud-like
breast, seem connected, and the later idea shows
how Sanskrit kuchah, ‘breast,’ came from kusum,
‘ flower.’
Kindu, to stir up, to dig.
We have this in Sinhalese as kintula, a small
tick that burrows in the flesh and causes great
pain. The Greek kented, ‘ to goad,’ seems con-
nected. It is possible both gini the Sinhalese,
and agni the Sanskrit, for fire, come from the
same root.
Kira, kila, old.
This is Greek geras • Sanskrit jara is rather
decayed than old, and not I think connected ; the
Sinhalese preserves this in colloquialisms, but has
abandoned it in writings. We have kiri appa,
kiri amma, ‘ old father,’ ‘ old mother,’ for grand-
parents, and in the proverb ‘ kila wandura wage
paehila,’ ‘ matured like the old ape,’ we see the
Tamil form kila. In gora bang’ nakiya, ‘ skinny
old elder,’ the gora is a form of Greek geras, for
it means old, ‘ shrivelled with age,’ and is also
used, as kora, lameness arising from shrivelling
of the leg. Whether the root kora, gora, to
shrivel, allied to our ‘corrugate,’ and French
‘corroucer,’ is shrivelled with age, admits per-
haps of doubt j in Sinhalese it seems to have
such a sense primarily, rather than connection
with kara, ‘ rough.’ It is well in any case to
note the affinity of sound, whether intentional or
accidental.
Kon, king.
This title enters freely into the names of
Sinhalese of the upper class of the Goyiya caste,
as in Abayakon, Tennekon, &c., and denotes
descent from a chief or prince of a Ko Vaisya
tribe, doubtless the Paia. The Sinhalese form
in later use for prince was ku-mara, ku being
the root, and mar or mara the Dravidian honori-
fic. The Dravidian kd, Ostiak khon, was probably
the newer’ form, as ku is the primitive root,
which in Chaldea was reversed as Uk.
Kori, koli, fowl.
This is the Gond korh, Seori kor, ‘a hen,’
gogori, ‘a cock,’ Vogoul kore, Ostiak korek,
kurek, Persian khoros, Russian kur, with which
we must compare Sanskrit khura, ‘ scratch,’
Sinhalese hori, ‘itch,’ Tamil sori‘itch,’ kirn,
‘scratch,’ Tamil kur, Sinhalese kura, a spur, ‘a
spike,’ which indicates the name comes from
scratching, or as “ the spurred,” though Caldwell
thought otherwise.
A parallel word is Sanskrit kukkuta, Sinha-