Soil is മണ്ണ്. Smell is മണം. Is there a common etymology?
It turns out that both words come from the same root, മണക്കുക to smell.
മണമുള്ളത് മണ്ണ് = Soil is that which smells.
It sounds artificial - until you look into Indian Rhetoric theory (തർക്കശാസ്ത്രം).
Accoring to തർക്കശാസ്ത്രം, earth (പൃഥിവി) is chrarcterized as the substance or material that is differentiated by means of smell: തത്ര ഗന്ധവതീ പൃഥിവി.
I am not sure which came first - the word മണ്ണ് that inspired the characterization or the characterization that inspired the name.
What do you think?
It turns out that both words come from the same root, മണക്കുക to smell.
മണമുള്ളത് മണ്ണ് = Soil is that which smells.
It sounds artificial - until you look into Indian Rhetoric theory (തർക്കശാസ്ത്രം).
Accoring to തർക്കശാസ്ത്രം, earth (പൃഥിവി) is chrarcterized as the substance or material that is differentiated by means of smell: തത്ര ഗന്ധവതീ പൃഥിവി.
I am not sure which came first - the word മണ്ണ് that inspired the characterization or the characterization that inspired the name.
What do you think?