Know the Etymology: 243
Place Name of the Day: Thursday, 18 April 2013

Linda-kumbura

லிந்த கும்பு₃ர
Linda kumbura

Linda+kumbura

The paddy field of the well

Linda

(singular), Lin (plural): Well (Sinhala); Aali: Raindrops, opening shower of the rainy season, hailstone (Tamil, DED 384); Aali-nir: Water of dew (Kannada, DED 384); Aal: Water, flood (Tamil, DED 384); Water (Malayalam, DED 384); Aalam: Water, ocean, rain (Tamil, DED 384); Water, sea (Malayalam, DED 384); Cognates found in 7 Dravidian languages (DED 384); Alinda, Alignjara: Water-pot (Sanskrit, CDIAL, 717 (2), 715)

Kumbura

(singular), Kumburu (plural): Paddy field (Sinhala); Kampalai: Agricultural tract (Tamil, DED 1237). L > R; P > B and A > U shift

Linda is a common word in Sinhala meaning a well. Lin is the plural form of the word.

The word probably corresponds to Alinda or Alingnjara (J >D change) in Sanskrit, meaning a water-pot (A Comparative Dictionary of Indo Aryan Languages, 717, 715-2).

However, the root word Aal, meaning water in Tamil and Malayalam, and the derivatives Aali (rain drops), Aalam (water, sea), Aali-neer (water of dew), are taken as words of Dravidian etymology (Dravidian Etymological Dictionary 384).

Kumbura, meaning a paddy field in Sinhala is a cognate of the word Kampalai meaning the same in old Tamil. L/ R, P/ B, A/ U changes are common between Tamil and Sinhala. Kampalai finds entry as a word of Dravidian etymology (DED 1237)

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Linda-kumbura is a village in Bibile division of Moneragala district

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Some related place names:

Lindara: The land of a well; Mirigama division, Gampaha district

Maa-linda: The big well; Dompe division, Gampaha district; Welikanda division, Polonnaruwa district

Lindula: The spring-well; Nuwara Eliya division, Nuwara Eliya district

Gal-linda-mulla: The corner of the stone-lined well or the corner of the well in the rock; Katuwana division, Hambantota district

Linda-gaawa-hena: The shifting cultivation field at the edge of the well; Kotapola division, Matara district. Gaawa: Border, brim, edge (Sinhala)

Kele-linda-wathu-yaya: The grove expanse of the forest well; Padiyathalawa division, Ampaa’rai district

Linda-gala: The rock or rocky hill having a well; Padiyathalawa division, Ampaa’rai district

Linda-wewa: The tank of the well; Medawachchya division, Anuradhapura district; Nochchiyagama division, Anuradhapura district

Maha-linda-wewa: The tank of the big well or the big part of the Linda-wewa village; Nochchiyagama division, Anuradhapura district

Ul-lindu-wawa: The tank getting water from spring wells; Kolonna division, Ratnapura district

First published: Thursday, 18 April 2013, 01:33