Know the Etymology: 203
Place Name of the Day: Wednesday, 19 April 2017

Mihin-talē, Mā-talē, Hapu-talē, Talaṭuva

மிஹிந்தலே, மா[த்]தலே, ஹ[ப்]பு[த்]தலே, தல[ட்]டுவ
Mihin-talē, Mā-talē, Hapu-talē, Talaṭuva

Mihińdu+talē
Mā+talē
Hapu+talē
Talaṭu+va

The hill or summit of Mihińdu

The big high-ground plain

The heights or summit of Hapu trees or the multitude of Hapu trees

The high-ground place

Talē1	from Tala: the head, top, summit, peak; "Muduna, Matta" (Sinhala, Sorata); Talā: high ground, hill (Sinhala, Clough); upper side, top; "Matupiṭa" (Sinhala, Sorata); bank, ground above water; "Goḍabima" (Sinhala, Sorata); Talu: head, the part above the face of a body; "Mukhayehi uḍuyaṭi koṭasa" (Sinhala, Sorata); Talai: head, top, end, tip, hair on the head (Tamil, DED 3103, cognates in 17 Dravidian languages); crest of a bird, top of a tree, apex of a wave (Tamil, Kuṟuntokai, 160: 11; 372: 1; 144: 2); tip of the horn of an animal (Tamil, Naṟṟiṇai, 39: 5-6); sky (Tamil, Tivākaram, 1: 36); Talaiya: (verb) having a head, having a peak as of a hill (Tamil, Caṅkam diction, Akanāṉūṟu, 130: 5; Akanāṉūṟu, 201: 15); Talaittu: (verb) peaking high (Tamil, Caṅkam diction, Patiṟṟuppattu, 31: 16); Talai-i: (verb) to be exalted, to start from the sky as of rain (Tamil, MTL, Naṟṟṇai, 274: 1-2). Tala: cognate of Talai (Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Gondi, Konda, Kuwi, DED 3103); Talā: cognate of Talai (Gondi, DED 3103); Tale: Cognate of Talai (Kannada, Kodagu, DED 3103). See column 23. Tala in Sinhala also means the opposite, such as depth, bottom, inferiority of position and place under the earth (Sinhala, Clough); in these meanings the Tamil/ Dravidian cognates are the verb, Tāḻ meaning to fall low or be low, and related nouns such as Tāḻvu meaning depth (DED 3178)
Talē2	from Talā: high-ground plain; "Us vū sama pedesa, Tẹnna" (Sinhala, Sorata); Tala: plain, surface, shelf or layer, place or firm spot, the ground (Sinhala, Clough); place, region, the earth; "Sthānaya, Pradeśaya, Bhūmiya" (Sinhala, Sorata); 1. Talai: a locative affix of the 7th case in Tamil grammar to mean a place, a toponymic suffix (Tamil, MTL, Kuṟuntokai, 285: 7; Tamil Brahmi inscription, ETE 21, related to DED 3103); place (Tamil, Kuṟuntokai, 6: 3); surface (Tamil, Naṟṟiṇai, 66: 2); side (Tamil, Akanāṉūṟu, 339: 9-10); Tala: head, top, end, front, place, side, quarter, (Telugu, DED 3103). Talai-i: verb form to spread, as of flood spreading (Tamil, Caṅkam diction, Paripāṭal, 6: 3); 2. Sthala: dry land, ground, place, spot, soil, flat surface, roof, a heap of artificially raised earth, mound, eminence, tableland, also applied to prominent parts of the body (Sanskrit, CDIAL 13744, Monier-Williams); the Sanskrit usages are not very early, first seen in Taittrīya Samhitā and Manu; but the root is traced to Sthal, Sthā: (verb) to stand firm, be firm (Sanskrit, Monier-Williams, CDIAL 13744). See column 23
Talē3	from Tala: multitude, assemblage; "Samūhaya" (Sinhala, Sorata); 1. Talai: hair on the head (Tamil, DED 3103); Talai-i: (verb) to come together (Tamil, Caṅkam diction, Paripāṭal, 10: 60); Talaik-kūṭi: (verb) to come together (Tamil, Tirukkuṟaḷ, 40: 4); 2. Also note Tōlai, Tulē, Tolla, Tulā and Tulāval meaning multitude of trees in place names, they may be related to another etymon
Talē4	as in Giri-talē, Kan-talē; from Taḷā: pond, tank, "Taṭākaya" (Sinhala, Sorata). See column 325
Talaṭu	from Talāṭu: placed in high ground, situated in high ground; "Ustanhi siṭina, Goḍabima tibena" (Sinhala, Sorata); Talāṭi: high ground, bank, ground above water, "Goḍabima" (Sinhala, Sorata); Tala+aṭu (see tale 1 and column 89); Talāṭu, Talāṭi: top of tree, point, tip (Malayalam, DED 3103)
Mihintalē	toponymic form of Mihintalā: a hill east of Anuradhapura where Arahat Mihińdu alighted upon (Sinhala, Sorata); Mihińdu+talā: according to Buddhist chronicles of the island, Arahat Mihińdu or Mahińda, son of emperor Aśōka, was the person who brought Buddhism to the island in 3rd century BCE and he alighted upon the said hill that was later named after him; Mihińdu: = Mahēndrayā (Sinhala, Sorata); Mahā+indra: the great god Indra (Sanskrit, CDIAL 9936 + 1572); Talā: see Talē 1
Mā	great, large (Sinhala, Clough); “Mahat” (Sinhala, Sorata); 1. Maha, Mahā: great, large (Sinhala, Clough); combination form of Mahat: large, big, huge, high, eminent (Sanskrit, Rig Vedic, Monier-Williams); root is traced to Mah: to exalt; great, strong, mighty (Sanskrit, Rig Vedic, Monier-Willims, CDIAL 9936 on Mahas); 2. Mā: great (Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, DED 4786); big, great, eminent, high (Tamil, special verb, Uriccol, Caṅkam diction, Naṟṛiṇai, 14: 7; 212: 8; Akanāṉūṟu, 61: 12; Puṟanāṉūṟu. 131: 1); great, big, large, huge (Dhivehi/ Maldivian, DBF); Māl: greatness, great man (Tamil, DED 4786); Mā-al: big, great (Tamil, special verb, Uriccol, Akanāṉūṟu, 152: 21); Māyi: very big (Gondi, DED 4786); Māli: huge man; as in Boḍu-māli: a street performance in old times in which a huge human figure was paraded (Dhivehi/ Maldivian)
Hapu	also Sapu: a flowering timber tree, Michelia champaca (Sinhala, Clough). See column 366 for etymology

The component Talē comes in different meanings in Sinhala place names.

In a place name like Mihin-talē it means a hill or summit. In Mā-talē it means a high-ground plain. In Hapu-talē it may mean a summit or top of an escarpment, or it may also mean a multitude of trees, as there are other place names like Aṁba-talē (mango-tree multitude), Bō-talē (Bo-tree multitude), Doḍan-talē (orange-tree multitude) etc.

In meaning a summit, hill or high ground, Talē corresponds to Tala and Talā in Sinhala that have the said shades of meanings. In turn, the words are related to Talai in Tamil/ Dravidian, meaning the head in a body and also meaning the top, tip and beginning/ end of anything. Talai also has the verb forms in Tamil, meaning to be exalted, to rise like a hill, to peak like a hill etc. Tala, Talā and Tale are cognates seen in other Dravidian languages (DED 3103). Sinhala also has the word Talu meaning the top-most part of head.

In meaning a high-ground plain, the toponymic component Talē is again related to Tala/ Talā in Sinhala meaning the same, as well as any plain, surface, place, ground etc. As a locative case affix and toponymic suffix, Talai in Tamil also share these meanings and usages could be seen in Tamil Brahmi inscriptions and in Caṅkam literature. In one of its shades of usages as a verb, Talai means to spread in Caṅkam Tamil. Tala meaning place, side, quarter in Telugu is listed as Dravidian (DED 3103). The meanings may be related to the top surface of head, as Talu in Sinhala, or to another word Taṭṭai in Tamil and Taṭṭa/ Taṭṭu in Sinhala meaning flatness (DED 3035, L/ Ṭ interchange). But a word of different etymology, Sthala in Sanskrit, getting mixed up in the Sinhala usage also cannot be ruled out. See Talē 2 for the various meanings of Sthala. The etymology of Sthala is traced to the root Sthal/ Stha in IA, meaning to stand firm or be firm (CDIAL 13744, Monier-Williams).

Talē meaning a multitude or assemblage of trees in place names is related to Tala meaning "Samūhaya" in Sinhala (Sorata). The meaning may have come from hair of head (Talai), or from Talai as a verb meaning to come together (Caṅkam diction), or from another etymon from which Tōlai, Tulē, Tolla, Tulā and Tulāval mean a multitude of trees either in Eezham Tamil or in Sinhala place names.

Talē in some Sinhala place names like Giri-talē means a tank. This is related to Taḷā in Sinhala meaning a pond or tank. See column 325 for etymology.

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The usage of Talai as verb, meaning to be high:

"வான் புகு தலைய குன்றத்துக் கவாஅன்" (அகநானூறு, 201: 15)

"Vāṉ puku talaiya kuṉṟattuk kavā-aṉ" (Akanāṉūṟu, 201: 15)

The side of the sky-entering headed hill


"விலகு தலைத்து எழிலிய" (பதிற்றுப்பத்து, 31: 16)

"Vilaku talaittu eḻiliya" (Patiṟṟuppattu, 31: 16)

The obstruction (summit of the mountain) peaking high and beautiful

* * *

Mā means great, big, large etc., in Sinhala and in South Dravidian languages (DED 4786). The usage is noticed since very early times. In Tamil it is also a special verb called Uriccol and there are also forms like Māl meaning greatness or a great man. They may correspond to Mahā in Indo-Aryan, for which the root is Mah, meaning to exalt, or they may be parallel ones coming from distant connections. However, note the similarity in word form and meaning between Sinhala and South Dravidian.

Usage of Mā in Caṅkam literature:

"மழைக் கணம் சேக்கும் மா மலைக் கிழவன்" (புறநானூறு 131: 1)

"Maḻaik kaṇam cēkkum mā malaik kiḻavaṉ" (Puṟanāṉūṟu 131: 1)

The lord of the great hill where clusters of rainclouds gather

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Mihintalē, a rocky hill and Buddhist pilgrim centre, is a divisional headquarters in Anuradhapura district.

Matalē is a district headquarters in the Central Province. This is a high-ground plain.

Haputalē is a divisional headquarters in Badulla district. The place is a summit of 4724 feet, overlooking an escarpment.

Talaṭuva is a high-ground bank of the river Dẹduru-oya in Kurunegala division of Kurunegala distrct

* * *

Some related place names:


Talē:

Hā-talē: Panvila, Kandy

Goḍa-talē: Hatharaliyadda, Kandy

Hakuru-talē: Hanguranketha, Nuwara Eliya. Hakuru: Akuru: little stones, "Gal-kẹṭaya" (Sinhala, Sorata)

Vệgan-talē: Mawanella, Kegalle. Vệ: "Vẹva" (Sinhala, Sorata), Vệ-gonu: "Kuḍā vẹva" (Sinhala, Sorata)

Ilapu-talē: a summit of 5636 feet, near Haputalē (Haputale OIS). Ilup: = Iluk, a grass (Sinhala, Sorata)

Talē-vala: Kegalle, Kegalle. Talē: Tala could also mean the Talipot tree, Corypha umbraculifera (Sinhala, Sorata)

A-talē: Palindanuwara, Kalutara

* * *

Talē probably meaning multitude of trees:

Aṁba-talē: Kolonnawa, Colombo; Tirappane, Anuradhapura. Aṁba: mango

Bō-talē: Mirigama, Gampaha; Bulatsinhala, Kalutara. Bō: the Bō tree

Val-bō-talē: Mirigama, Gampaha. Val: jungle; Val-bō-talē is differentiated from Bō-talē of the same place

Bō-talē-gama: Dankotuwa, Puttalam

Doḍan-talē: Mawanella, Kegalle. Doḍam: orange




Revised: Wednesday, 19 April 2017, 17:20

First published: Monday, 11 April 2011, 21:43