Know the Etymology: 78
Place Name of the Day: Tuesday, 29 November 2016

Āyili, Āyil-niṉṟa-ellai

ஆயிலி, ஆயில் நின்ற எல்லை
Āyili, Āyil-niṉṟa-ellai

Āyil+i
Āyil+niṉṟa+ellai

The (locality of an) Āyil tree

The limits or locality where an Āyil tree stands

Āyil	a large timber tree; 1. Chittagong wood, Chickrassia tabularis, "Matakari-vēmpu"(Tamil, MTL, Winslow); 2. Indian mahogany, Cedrola toona, "Cev-akil" (Tamil, MTL); Chickrassia tabularis: = "Hulaň-hik," tree producing fine timber (Sinhala, Clough); Āyili: variation of Āyil (Eezham Tamil); Āyila-maram: a tree (Tamil, inscription, 1093 CE, SII, V, 473); the word form Āyil is related to Akil: eagle-wood, the tree producing agar, Aqilaria agalloochum (Tamil, DED 13)
Ellai	limit, border, boundary, measure, extremity (Tamil, DED 846); limit in time and space (Tamil, Naṟṟiṇai, 230: 7; Kuṟuntokai, 373: 1-2); defined place, locality (Tamil, peruṅkatai, 60: 68); probably related to the root El: sun, daytime (Tamil, DED 829)
Niṉṟa	(verb) where something or somebody stands (Tamil); from Nil: (verb) to stand, stay (Tamil, DED 3675)

Ellai in Tamil commonly means limit (both in time and space), border, boundary and extremity. It also means a defined locality, measure and goal. The word has cognates in Malayalam, Toda, Kannada and Telugu, and is listed as Dravidian (DED 846).

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Āyil is a large timber tree. Āyil-related Tamil place names are noticed from Jaffna to Batticaloa. Āyili is a variation of Āyil seen in Eezham Tamil.

The Madras Tamil Lexicon assigns the name Āyil to two related kinds of trees: Chickrassia tabularis (Chittagong Wood) and Cedrola toona (Indian Mahogany). Both have alternative Tamil names, Matakari-vēmpu and Cev-akil, respectively. Hulaň-hik is the Sinhala name for Chickrassia tabularis.

One of the alternative names for Āyil has the suffix Vēmpu (Neem), as both Āyil and Neem belong to the same Mahogany family and their leaves also look similar. But the term Āyil comes from Akil, a Tamil/ Dravidian name for the Agar- producing, Aquilaria agalloochum (DED 13). This may be due to the fragrance of freshly cut Āyil and the gum obtained from it.

The usage of the form Āyil for a tree is noticed in Tamil inscriptions.

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"இரட்டைக்கும் இன் நடுவில் ஆயில மரமே உற்று" (Tamil inscription, 1093 CE, SII, v, 473)

"Iraṭṭaikkum iṉ naṭuvil āyila maramē uṟṟu" (Tamil inscription, 1093 CE, SII, v, 473)

There is an Āyila tree in between the two (comes in the context of noting boundaries)

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Āyili is a place in Karainagar Island of Jaffna district. There is another place by the same name near Ilavankulam in Puttalam district (One Inch Sheet).

Āyil-niṉṛa-ellai is a locality in Tunnalai in the Vadamaratchi Northeast division of Jaffna district. The Pillayar temple at this place is called Āyil-niṉṟellaip-piḷḷaiyār (Vākya Almanac)

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Some related place names:

Āyil:

Āyilaṭi: Āyil+aṭi: The locality of an Āyil tree; a locality in Kalvayal, Chavakachcheri, Jaffna district (Kaṇita Almanac)

Āyiliyaṭi: Āyili+aṭi: The locality of an Āyili tree; Kinniya, Trincomalee

Āyilaṭik-kuḷam: The tank in the locality of an Āyil tree; Alampil, Karaithuraippattu division, Mullaiththeevu district (One Inch Sheet, Kokilay)

Āyilaṭic-cēṉai: The shifting cultivation field in the locality of an Āyil tree; Koralaippattu, Batticaloa

Āyil-kuḷam: The tank in the locality of Āyil trees; near 5th milepost, Vavuniya-Mannar Road (One Inch Sheet)

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Notes on Chickrassia tabularis:

Chickrassia tabularis is a large timber tree belonging to cabinet timber species and related to Red Cedar.

It is a deciduous tree that is found in the lowland deciduous or evergreen forests of South Asia and Southeast Asia.

The average height of the tree is 30 metres and it may grow up to 40 metres. It grows without branches up to 18 metres and then branches off, thus providing long straight timber.

The deeply cracked bark rusty brown outside and red inside, produces usable gum. The bark is also used in medicine. Its reddish brown wood is a valuable timber that gives fine finishing. It is largely used in making furniture and in shipbuilding. The fresh wood is fragrant.

It has several popular names in English, but Chittagong Wood is the widely used term.

Chickrassia tabularis, Chukrasia velutina and Chukrasia tabularis are botanical synonyms of this tree, which belongs to the Meliaceae family. Velutina and tabularis are sometimes differentiated from the rough and smooth types of the barks of the tree.




Revised: Tuesday, 29 November 2016, 23:25

First published: Wednesday, 06 February 2008, 18:39