Two very similar words with the same meaning

Usually, when we change a letter in a word, it's meaning changes. 

However, consider the following: 

കഞ്ജബാണൻ = കഞ്‌ജം (കംജം = താമര) ബാണമായുള്ളവൻ = കാമദേവൻ 

പഞ്ചബാണൻ = അഞ്ചു ബാണങ്ങൾ ഉള്ളവൻ = കാമദേവൻ 

Strictly speaking, we changed more than one letter ( ക -> പ, ഞ്ജ -> ഞ്ച) but the sound change for the second letter change is very subtle.

Do you know other pairs of such words that keep its meaning when you change 1 (or 2, at most) letters? 

Some common പ്ര- words of Sanskrit Origin

Here are some common words starting with പ്ര that are of Sanskrit origin that, in its formation, incurs a sound change. 

പ്രണവം = പ്ര + നവം -- new one

പ്രണയം = പ്ര + നയം -- leading towards (the lover)

പ്രമാണം = പ്ര + മാനം -- measure

പ്രവണം = പ്ര + വനം -- forest (from side of the forest --> hill --> incline --> tendency to slip --> tendency)

പ്രളയം = പ്ര + ലയം -- dissolution

The common sound changes are:

ന -> ണ 

ല -> ള 

Do you know other words like these?

Simple യമകം

 In an earlier post,  we met the work വളക്കട, which can mean a bangle shop or manure shop. Here are two more words like that. 

വെള്ളക്കുതിര - വെളുത്ത കുതിര / വെള്ളം കൊണ്ടുണ്ടാക്കിയ കുതിര 

The second meaning is not typical, except if you are watching Frozen 2 and see Elsa's magical water horse :-) 

കടക്കാരൻ - കടമുള്ളവൻ / കടയുള്ളവൻ 

പണി(യ്)ക്കത്തി - പണിയുന്നവൾ / പണിയാനുള്ള കത്തി 

So here is a sentence that can have 16 meanings:

കടക്കാരൻ പണിക്കത്തിയുമായി  വെള്ളക്കുതിരയേറി വളക്കടയിൽ പോയി. 

Not sure if this is as clean since the first form has a hidden യ് in it. 

Can you think of other such words? 

ട-റ Connection

Some words have alternation of ട-റ with similar senses. 

ചാടുക ~  ചാറുക > ചാറ്റൻ (e.g. ചാറ്റൻ മഴ)

കൂടുക ~ *കൂറുക > കൂറ്റൻ (e.g. കാളക്കൂറ്റൻ)

വാടുക *~ *വാറുക > വാറ്റ് (e.g. വാറ്റുചാരായം)

Are there other words like this? 

കള, തള, വള

കള, തള, വള have similar etymologies. Each comes from the corresponding -അളയുക form of the verb.

കളയുക (to discard) > കള (that which is discarded) weed

തളയുക (to be fettered) > തള (that which fetters) > anklets

വളയുക (to bend) > വള (that which is bent) > bangle

Do you know other nouns that follow this pattern? 

Two pronunciations of ങ്ങ

In Malayalam there are two possible pronounciations for ങ്ങ. 

In words like മാങ്ങ, പൊങ്ങി, the pronounciation of ങ്ങ is very 'pure' - it sounds exactly like two ങ's. Whereas, in words like തേങ്ങ and മുരിങ്ങ, the pronounciation is more like 'ങ്യ' (ങ് + യ ). 

Is it completely random, or is there a rule behind it?

It seems that when the preceding sound is gutteral (e.g. അ, ഓ or ഉ), the pronounciation is the pure one. When the preceding sound is palatal (e.g. ഇ, ഏ), the pronounciation is mixed with യ. 

For a set of contrasting examples, consider: ചങ്ങാതി (1), ചിങ്ങം (2), ചുങ്ങി (1), ചേങ്ങില (2), ചൊങ്ങ്‌ (1), where (1) denotes pure and (2) denotes impure pronunciation. 

Can you think of other examples that demonstrate this difference in pronounciation? 

Interesting false cognates

Here are a couple of false cognates in Sanskrit and Malayalam that I thought was funny.

ആന means elephant in Malayalam. യതി, a tathsamam from Sanskrit, means 'breaking'. If you combine the two, you get ആനയതി. This is meaningless in Malayalam but in Sanskrit this means 'he brings'.

Approximately switching the order, അതിയാൻ means 'that man' in Malaylam. A very similar-sounding അതിയാനം meaning 'passing by' in Sanskrit.

Isn't that interesting? 

One root, four forms

I came across this in Indo-Aryan Loanwords in Malayalam.

The four words in Malayalam, ആരിയൻ, അയ്യൻ, അച്ചൻ and ആശാൻ, all come from original Sanskrit ആര്യ. However, they took four different paths to get to Malayalam.

ആരിയൻ 'an Arya' comes directly from Sanskrit.

അയ്യൻ 'lord' comes via Pālī.

അച്ചൻ 'father' comes via Prākṛt

ആശാൻ 'teacher' comes from Marathi or Hindi ājā, 'grandfather, any respectable person'

Isn't that interesting?

ചേതവും നഷ്ടവും

ചേതം and നഷ്ടം are two common words used to denote loss or destruction. Both of them have their origins in Sanskrit.

നഷ്ടം is the noun form of നശതി, to destroy, to disappear. നശതി -> നഷ്ടം, just like വിശതി -> വിഷ്ടം.

ചേതം, though very native Malayalam-sounding, is a തത്ഭവം from ഛേദം which means split.

Do you know equivalent Tamizh origin words for ചേതം and നഷ്ടം?

(I can guess, കളഞ്ഞു പോവുക could be an equivalent of നഷ്ടമാവുക.) 

How-many-th?

One of the pronouns that is unique to Malayalam is

എത്രാമത്തെe-thraa-ma-ththe

, that can be roughly translated as 'how-many-th'.

Here is a breakdown of this word.

എത്രാമത്തെ = എത്രാമത് + എ = എത്ര + ആം  + അത് + എ  < എത്ര + ആകും + അത്  + എ

എത്ര /ethra/ 'how many'
ആകും /aakum/ '(it) is'
അത് /ath'/ 'that'
എ /e/ intensifier

Thus the literal translation of എത്രാമത്തെ can be written as something like "how-many-is-it-that-which-is".

The answers are something like:
ഒന്നാമത്തെ = ഒന്ന്  + ആം + അത് + എ < ഒന്ന് + ആകും + അത് + എ. Literally, this means "that which is one(first)".

A lesser used form is ഇത്രാമത്തെ = ഇത്ര + ആം + അത് +എ.  For example,

ഒരു കാര്യം എത്രാമത്തെ എന്ന് ചോദിച്ചാൽ അത് ഇത്രാമത്തെ എന്നു പറയണം.

I don't think the form അത്രാമത്തെ is used much. An example is

ഒന്നാം പട്ടികയിൽ എത്രാമത്തെ സംഖ്യയാണോ ഏറ്റവും വലുത് രണ്ടാം പട്ടികയിൽ അത്രാമത്തെ സംഖ്യയുടെ അടിയിൽ വരയ്ക്കുക.

In English you would say it as

Underline the number in the second table corresponding to the largest number in the first table.

Technically, there should also be a form യത്രാമത്തെ, but I am not sure if it actually exist.

Space and Right?

ഇട means gap. By extension, it also means opportunity.
ഇടയുക means to interlock, mix-up and by extension, to fight. An extension is ഇടകേട് ( ഇടങ്ങേട്), meaning complication.
ഇടയൻ is a shepherd.
ഇടം means space.
ഇടത്‌ means left.

Why is space or gap associated with left?

(വലം ('right') seems to be related to വൽ- meaning 'big'. Compare to വലിയ. )

Airse and stretch

The word ഉത്ഥാനം means 'rising up'. It is a tatsamam from Sanskrit.

It comes from ഉത്ഥാനം = ഉദ് (up) + സ്ഥാനം (position). I believe the 'സ' sound is lost because of sandhi rules.

A similar sounding word ഉത്താനം (meaning stretching) comes from ഉദ് (up) + താനം (stretching).

The key unto itself

Key is താക്കോൽ in Malayalam. This is a commonly used word.

It comes from താഴ് (lock) + കോൽ (stick). Makes sense.

Interestingly, though, ശബ്ദതാരാവലി does not give താഴ് as a word for lock. Could it have been related to താഴുക (to sink, to descend)?

The two n's

In Malayalam there are two pronunciations for the letter ന. One is the 'dental', denoted by n̪, similar to the n sound in 'month'. The other is the 'alveolar' denoted by n, similar to the sound in 'nice'. 

In Paniniyam introduction, AR uses different letters to indicate these sounds. 

The following words show that these are indeed different phonemes (since they change the meaning when ന is pronounced differently)

word	meaning when pronounced as dental	meaning when pronounced as alveolar
എന്നാൽ	however	by me
നിന്നാൽ	if (somebody) stands	by you
തന്നാൽ	if (somebody) gives	by self
ഇന്നത്	today, that (ഇന്ന്  + അത് )	this (particular) one

Do you know other words that demonstrate this difference? 

Sweet south

In the US, South and Sweet has a wonderful connection. If you have had Sweet Tea from the south you'd know what I am talking about.

It seems this is not just limited to the English world.

In Malayalam too, the root തെൻ has both meanings - south and sweet.

The word for honey or nectar is തേൻ, which is the intentisified version of (തെൻ). Similar to തിൻ  >  തീൻ.

തെൻ is also the root of the ubiquitous തെങ്ങ്. Its fruit is തേങ്ങ, which comes from തെങ്ങിൻ കായ്, similar to മാവിൻ കായ് becoming മാങ്ങ. Interstingly, തേങ്ങ can also be derived as തേൻ+കായ് , meaning sweet fruit.

തെന്നൽ is breeze. Looking at its etymology, it may have originally denoted 'southern wind'.

A new word I learned recently is തെണ്ടിര < തെൻ + തിര  meaning 'south sea'. This is an example of adesha sandhi. (Similar to വിണ്ടലം < വിൺ + തലം)

The standard malayalam word for south is തെക്ക്. ശബ്ദതാരാവലി lists both തെൻ and ദക്ഷിണ as possible etymologies. To me, the tatbhavam from ദക്ഷിണ sounds more possible.

In any case, south and sweet are linked in Malayalam too. 

Room and walls

It is interesting how the same etymology in two languages gave rise to related concepts.

In Malayalam, the word for room is മുറി. It comes from the root മുറിയുക, to split. After all, a room is a split or portion of the house. Compare, തേങ്ങാമുറി - the half of a coconut.

The word for wall is ഭിത്തി. This is a തത്സമം from Sanskrit. It comes from the root भित which means to 'split'.

Thus the etymology is identical in both words. One came to mean room and the other came to mean wall. In other words, one focused attention on 'that which splits' and the other on 'that which is split into'.

For comparison, the English word room comes from PIE root *reuƏ which means to open up. Wall comes from a root that originally meant post or pillar - presumably, the original wall was made by a row of posts.