Know the Etymology: 257
Place Name of the Day: Tuesday, 28 May 2013

Aina-gama, Heella-ge Ayna

ஐன க₃ம
ஹீல்லகே₃ அய்ன
Ainagama
Hīllagē Ayna

Aina+gama
Heella+ge+ayna

The adjacent village
The neighbourhood of the cool place

Ayna	also Aina, from Ayina: (singular), Ayin: (plural) side, border (Sinhala); Ayal: neighbourhood, adjacent place (Tamil, Malayalam, DED 189)
Heella	The cool place; from, Heela: (singular), Heel: (plural) cold, coldness, frigidity (Sinhala); Seetala: cold (Sanskrit, Pali, CDIAL 12487); Seeala: cold (Prakrit, CDIAL 12487); Chilu-chilu. Jilu-jilu: to feel chill, be cool (Tamil, DED 2576, taken as onomatopoeia); Jillu: cool sensation (Kannada, DED 2576); Jila: cold (Pengo, DED 2576); Jili: cold, chill (Kui, DED 2576); Cha’li: cold, chilliness (Tamil, Kannada, Tulu, DED 2408); Cali: cold, chilliness (Telugu, DED 2408); Ku’lir: coldness, chilliness (Tamil, DED 1834); Chilir: coldness, chilliness (Tamil)
Gama	village (Sinhala): Graama: troop, village (Sanskrit, CDIAL 4368); Gaama: village (Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 4368); Kaamam: village (Eezham Tamil place names)
Ge	1. Also, Geha, Geya, Gea, Geaha: house (Sinhala); Grha: house (Sanskrit, CDIAL 4220), Gaha: house (Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 4220); Giha: house (Prakrit, CDIAL 4220); Geaha: house (Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 4251, tracing the etymology from Geadha); Ge, Gea: house, room (Dhivehi/ Maldivian); Ge: 2. Genitive case suffix, meaning belongingness or relationship

Ayna or Aina is a word component found in some Sinhala place names of the island.

The component is used in the sense of meaning to indicate neighbourhood or limits/ locality of a place.

Corresponding word forms, properly written in Sinhala, are Ayina (singular) and Ayin (plural), meaning, side or border of anything.

The Sinhala word is a cognate of the Tamil/ Malayalam word Ayal, which means neighbourhood or an adjacent place. Ayal is listed as a word of Dravidian etymology (DED 189)

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Heela (singular) and Heel (plural) in Sinhala means cold, coldness and frigidity. Heella in Sinhala place names stand for a cool place. Heel as a prefix in some place names means a cool stream etc.

The word has cognates both in Indo-Aryan as well as Dravidian, as the etymology is onomatopoeic. (See table)

The suffix Ge (Gea) in this context is the genitive case suffix, meaning belongingness or relationship

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Ihala Aina-gama is a village in Pitabeddara division of Matara district. The Ihala prefix means that the village is now divided into two, and this is the front (Ihala) part to differentiate it from the back (Pahala) part.

Heella-ge Ayna is in Weeraketiya division of Hambantota district. The village is in the windward side and is adjacent to a hilly and forest terrain in an otherwise arid zone.

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Some related place names:


Aina, Ayina:

Boraluwa-ge-aina: Bora’luwa-gea-aina: The side or neighbourhood of the gravel land; Molonna division, Ratnapura district. Bora’lu: gravel, pebbles, a gravelly or gritty soil, chaff, (Sinhala); Paral: pebble, seed (Tamil, DED 3959); grit, coarse grain, gravel (Malayalam, DED 3959); Paral, Para’l: pebble, stone (Kannada, DED 3959); Pareluu: grain of sand, grit, gravel (Tulu, DED 3959); Ge: genitive case suffix, meaning belongingness or relationship (Sinhala). Note that there are place names Boraluwa and Boraluwa-hena in Ganewatta division of Kurunegala district and Niyagama division of Galle district

Madaina: Mada-aina: The muddy side or the side of lowland cultivation; Panduwasnuwara division, Kurunegala district. Mada: 1. Mud, slime (Sinhala); Ma’ndi: sediment, dregs, settlings (Tamil, DED 4676); Mada: 2. Lowland as opposed to Goda, which is highland (Sinhala, Madduma Bandara, 2009); Maddam: smallness, inferiority, decrease, shortness, (Tamil, DED 4661); Mataahaka: short, small (Pali, CDIAL 9723)

Handapaan-gala Ayna: The locality of the Moonlight Hill; Weeraketiya division, Hambantota district. Handapaana: moonlight (Sinhala); Chandra-bhaanu (Sanskrit). Handapaan-goda (Ingriya division, Kalutara district) and Handapaan-gala (Wellawaya division, Moneragala district; Narammala division, Kurunegala district) are related place names.

Mal-hewa-ge-Ayna: The locality or neighbourhood of the house in the shady flower grove or the place adjacent to the shady grove of flowers; Weeraketiya division, Hambantota district. Ge: house as well as genitive case suffix

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Heel, Heella:

Heel-oya: The cool stream; Medadumbara division, Kandy district; Ella division, Badulla district

Heelo-gama: The cool village; Nikawratiya division, Kurunegala district

Kuda-heella: The smaller part of the cool place; Beliatta division, Hambantota district

Mahaa-heella: The bigger part of the cool place; Beliatta division, Hambantota district

First published: Tuesday, 28 May 2013, 16:58