What is the pure mallu word for face?
മുഖം is the most common word, but it is Sanskrit.
What about മോന്ത? Or മുന്നി? The latter sounds like it is from മുന് (front).
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
The Elements
There are tons of examples where otherwise "harmless" Tamil words developed negative connotations in mallu.
വളി in Tamil means "air". Just air.
വെളി in Tamil means "outside"
Both are words, word roots in mallu also.
വളി came to mean stale air, stench (cf. വളിക്കുക), and by extension അധോവായു.
വെളി still means outside. However, in the euphemism "വെളിക്കു പോകുക" it has picked up a negative connotation.
Yes, I used examples that are "mostly harmless". There are other words that might be a bit "hairy", which clearly demonstrate that the original Tamil word was entirely neutral but the mallu cousin is totally shady.
The more interesting question is why could such negative connotations have developed? An indication of class structure wherein language of the upper class (Sanskrit) was considered more refined and positive than the language of the lower class (Prakrits and Mallu)?
വളി in Tamil means "air". Just air.
വെളി in Tamil means "outside"
Both are words, word roots in mallu also.
വളി came to mean stale air, stench (cf. വളിക്കുക), and by extension അധോവായു.
വെളി still means outside. However, in the euphemism "വെളിക്കു പോകുക" it has picked up a negative connotation.
Yes, I used examples that are "mostly harmless". There are other words that might be a bit "hairy", which clearly demonstrate that the original Tamil word was entirely neutral but the mallu cousin is totally shady.
The more interesting question is why could such negative connotations have developed? An indication of class structure wherein language of the upper class (Sanskrit) was considered more refined and positive than the language of the lower class (Prakrits and Mallu)?
What to write?
The basic mallu word for "write" is എഴുതുക, the underlying root being എഴു.
One can see the same (I suppose) എഴു in the following words as well:
Were we to consider the origins of writing - of scratching letters on palm leaves - we can get a clue. The letters "stood out" (എഴുന്നുനിന്നു) hence they were called എഴുത്തു്.
What about the components of writing? We have വര, കുറി (for lines, dashes), വള്ളി, പുള്ളി, കുനിപ്പു് (all for tittles) and കുത്തു് (for jot and full stop).
What about the letters themselves? അക്ഷരം is the word currently used to denote a (complete) letter. But അക്ഷരം obviously comes from Sanskrit (it actually means indestructible, indivisible, etc.). So are വര്ണ്ണം and കാരം. So what is the corresponding pure mallu word?
Or, is it that linguistics was formalized only with the advent of Sanskrit?
What about writing instruments? The original one would have been a നാരായം or എഴുത്താണി (in pure mallu). What about pen and ink? I don't think there are pure mallu words for these. പേന is most likely from "pen". മഷി is Sanskrit. മൈ is more mallu, but it looks almost like a തത്ഭവം from മഷി (മഷി -> മയി -> മൈ ).
What about paper? Originally they used പനയോല. Then came paper - കടലാസു്. I don't know the origin of the latter though.
One can see the same (I suppose) എഴു in the following words as well:
- എഴുന്നു് - raised above the surface
- എഴുന്നേല്ക്കുക - to raise oneself up (either from a sitting or lying position)
Were we to consider the origins of writing - of scratching letters on palm leaves - we can get a clue. The letters "stood out" (എഴുന്നുനിന്നു) hence they were called എഴുത്തു്.
What about the components of writing? We have വര, കുറി (for lines, dashes), വള്ളി, പുള്ളി, കുനിപ്പു് (all for tittles) and കുത്തു് (for jot and full stop).
What about the letters themselves? അക്ഷരം is the word currently used to denote a (complete) letter. But അക്ഷരം obviously comes from Sanskrit (it actually means indestructible, indivisible, etc.). So are വര്ണ്ണം and കാരം. So what is the corresponding pure mallu word?
Or, is it that linguistics was formalized only with the advent of Sanskrit?
What about writing instruments? The original one would have been a നാരായം or എഴുത്താണി (in pure mallu). What about pen and ink? I don't think there are pure mallu words for these. പേന is most likely from "pen". മഷി is Sanskrit. മൈ is more mallu, but it looks almost like a തത്ഭവം from മഷി (മഷി -> മയി -> മൈ ).
What about paper? Originally they used പനയോല. Then came paper - കടലാസു്. I don't know the origin of the latter though.
Turning words
The three basic rotations are roll, yaw and pitch (for details refer to this diagram)
What would the corresponding mallu words be? I think they will be:
തിരി = yaw (cf. ഇടംവലംതിരിയുക), turn
മറി = pitch (cf. കീഴ്മേല്മറിയുക ), overturn
ചെരി = roll (from the general meaning of the verb), tilt
തിരി also means
What would the corresponding mallu words be? I think they will be:
തിരി = yaw (cf. ഇടംവലംതിരിയുക), turn
മറി = pitch (cf. കീഴ്മേല്മറിയുക ), overturn
ചെരി = roll (from the general meaning of the verb), tilt
തിരി also means
- wick - and of course, a wick is created by "turning" (or rolling) a piece of cotton
- a lamp, by extension. as in മെഴുകുതിരി
- to divide - as in തരംതിരിക്കുക
- to understand, to discriminate (as in a rational process) - from the previous meaning, as in വകതിരിവു്
- to "elephant-die" i.e. to die, used only in the case of elephant. Figurative, of course.
Derived words
Some common derived words:
ഐശ്വര്യം from ഈശ്വരന് - God
സൗകര്യം from സുകരം - easy
ഗൌരവം from ഗുരു - great
സൌഭാഗ്യം from സുഭഗം (സു + ഭഗം) - good fortune
ഔദാര്യം from ഉദാരം - generous (Did this in turn come from ഉദരം - stomach?)
So when you say someone's face has ഐശ്വര്യം you imply that they look like God :-)
ഐശ്വര്യം from ഈശ്വരന് - God
സൗകര്യം from സുകരം - easy
ഗൌരവം from ഗുരു - great
സൌഭാഗ്യം from സുഭഗം (സു + ഭഗം) - good fortune
ഔദാര്യം from ഉദാരം - generous (Did this in turn come from ഉദരം - stomach?)
So when you say someone's face has ഐശ്വര്യം you imply that they look like God :-)
എണ്ണയും വെണ്ണയും
എണ്ണ came from എള് (sesame) + നെയ് (grease/fat), hinting that oil was first extracted (at least to the knowledge of mallus) from sesame.
വെണ്ണ came from വെള് (white) + നെയ് (grease/fat), obviously from the color of butter.
(The sandhi rule used in the formation of these words is ആദേശസന്ധി.)
So നെയ് originally meant just grease or fat. It also appears in compounds like നെയ്മീന്, നെയ്ച്ചൊറു്, etc. As a stand alone word, it refers to ghee or clarified butter.
വെണ്ണ came from വെള് (white) + നെയ് (grease/fat), obviously from the color of butter.
(The sandhi rule used in the formation of these words is ആദേശസന്ധി.)
So നെയ് originally meant just grease or fat. It also appears in compounds like നെയ്മീന്, നെയ്ച്ചൊറു്, etc. As a stand alone word, it refers to ghee or clarified butter.
തെന്നല്
തെന്നല് actually means wind from the south! ( തെന് = south)
What is the word for wind from the north?
What is the word for wind from the north?
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