Door

Did you know the origin of the word for door?

വാതിൽ came from വായ് - mouth.

വായ്‌ + ഇൽ = വായിൽ which got modified to വാതിൽ!

Of course, the door is the mouth of the house!

Star

An often-used word for star is താരം. Why is star called that?

തരിപ്പാൻ സഹായിക്കുന്നത് താരം

okay what does തരിക്കുക mean here?

In this context, തരിക്കുക = തരണം ചെയ്യുക, which means to cross over, as in using a boat.

So, താരം is something that helps to cross over (as in a boat), i.e. to help navigate a boat.

Of course, in ancient times, people used stars to navigate their boats.

Crazy doubles

The other day I came across the word ദ്വിരേഫം. Literally, this means "two രs". I looked up the dictionary and it says this means വണ്ട്‌  (beetle). So why the name "two രs"?

It turns out that the Sanskrit word for beetle is ഭ്രമരം and in writing this word there are two ര sounds.

Thus, the name ദ്വിരേഫം is like a code name for  ഭ്രമരം. The dictionary also says another word ദ്വിരം for beetle.

So I started searching through all ദ്വി- words and found another one:

ദ്വികകാരം = കാക്ക

Of course, this is even more matching since not only the word കാക്ക has two ക sounds, the bird itself cries "കാ കാ" :-)

(ദ്വികകാരം also has a short form: ദ്വികം)

p.s.  Interestingly it does not work with other established suffixes. For example,

ദ്വിപം = ദ്വി + പം = twice + drinking = elephant (of course, it "drinks" through the trunk and then through the mouth)

ദ്വിജം = ദ്വി + ജം = twice born = brahmin

Relatively Speaking

ബന്ധവും സ്വന്തവും

A reader asked about the etymology for relationship names like father, mother, etc.

Here is what I could find.

The generic word for brother is സഹോദരൻ = സഹ + ഉദര + അൻ, meaning the one born from the same womb. അൻ is the masculine particle. The word for sister is സഹോദരി.

There are more specific words. Elder brother is ചേട്ടൻ which is derived from the Sanskrit word ജ്യേഷ്ഠൻ . Elder sister is ചേച്ചി, (I guess the feminine form of ചേട്ടൻ .)

Younger brother is അനിയൻ, derived form Sanskrit അനുജൻ (the one born after). Younger sister is അനിയത്തി or അനുജത്തി.

Mother is അമ്മ, apparently derived from അംബ (according to the dictionary). Father is അച്ഛൻ. It is derived from അജ്ജ which is the Prakit form of the Sanskrit word ആര്യ meaning great one, respected one.

One final tidbit. Both സ്വന്തക്കാർ and ബന്ധക്കാർ mean relatives. However, the former are the blood relatives. The latter are relatives that are because of marriage (ബന്ധം).

ശങ്കരൻ

ശങ്കരൻ is a fairly common Indian name. Of course, it is one of the names of Lord Shiva.

Ever wondered about its etymology?

ശം is an old Sanskrit word that means 'happiness'. കരൻ means 'doer'.
Therefore, ശങ്കരൻ means 'one who causes happiness' or 'bringer of happiness'. (The ങ് sound comes because of the സന്ധി rules - മ് + ക = ങ് + ക = ങ്ക.)

If you know the specific story behind how Lord Shiva got that name, please share it in the comments section.

തൽ words

How may words do you know that end in - തൽ ?  

Here are a few:

കരുതൽ 

കാതൽ

കൂടുതൽ 

ചിതൽ  

മുതൽ 

Of these, the first one is just the gerund forming suffix -അൽ. കരുതുക + അൽ = കരുതൽ. 

What about the others? 

Verb endings that are contractions

I think these are more formally called വിനയെച്ചം (verb-endings) but I am not fully sure. These may indicate how the language evolved.

-ണം, denoting must, was perhaps a contraction of വേണം E.g. വരണം = വര + വേണം 

-ണ്ടാ , denoting "don't do" it, is from വേണ്ടാ . E.g. വരേണ്ടാ = വര + വേണ്ടാ 

-ട്ടോ, adding emphasis/assurance may be from കേട്ടോ e.g. വരാട്ടോ = വരാം + കേട്ടോ 

Do you know of other verb endings like these?