Know the Etymology: 282
Place Name of the Day: Wednesday, 04 September 2013

Udu-wara, Yata-wara

உடு₃வர, ய[ட்]டவர
Uṭuvara
Yaṭavara

Udu+wara
Yata+wara

The upper precincts
The lower precincts

Wara	Also Warawa: A Sinhala place name component. Boundary, limits, precincts, surroundings, enclosure, area and zone are the meanings deduced from the contexts of usage (Sinhala); Wara: Surroundings, time in general (Sinhala, Clough's dictionary); Maa-wara: Horizontal sticks of a fence (Sinhala, Cough's dictionary); Varai: Boundary, limit, measure, bank, extent, place, time (Tamil, DED 5261); Varaippu: Limit, boundary, wall, enclosure (Tamil, DED 5261); Varampu: Boundary, limit, extent, ridge of a field (Tamil, DED 5261); Limit, bank in rice fields (Malayalam, DED 5261); Varam, Vaaram: Place name components (Tamil); Vara: Time, measure; Varu: Boundary, border (Malayalam, DED 5261); Vari, Vare: Compass, space, limit (Kannada, DED 5261); Bare: Mud wall round the premises (Tulu, DED 5261); Vara: Limit (Telugu, DED 5261); Varu, Vari, Varan, Varamu: Components found in island names and in the names of the divisions within islands (Dhivehi/ Maldivian); Varu: Part, amount, extent, level (Dhivehi/ Maldivian dictionaries); Vari, Varai: Line (Tamil, DED 5263); Wari: Line (Sinhala); Ke'la-wara: end, utmost, final, termination, extremity (Sinhala); 1. Kadai-warai, Kadaisi-warai: to the end, to the extremity (Tamil); 2. Ke'la: end (Sinhala); Kela: side (Kannada, Parji, DED 1969); Kellu: brink, edge, vicinity (Tulu, DED 1969)
Udu	(adjective) High (Sinhala); Uda: Above, higher up, upwards, over, above he head (Sinhala); Oordhva: Erect, being above (Sanskrit, CDIAL 2426); Uddha: Being above, high up (Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 2426); Uyar: Be high, elevated (Tamil, DED 646); the root U comes out with words meaning height, elevated spot, yonder, sky etc. (Tamil, DED 557a)
Yata	Also Yati: Under, below, beneath (Sinhala); Adiya: The bottom of anything, foot, footstep (Sinhala); Adi: Foot, footprint, base, bottom (Tamil, Malayalam DED 72). Y coming in front of A is a linguistic feature (Aadu > Yaadu; Aanai > Yaanai; Aa'ndu > Yaa'ndu); Adi: Foot, base, bottom, under (Kannada, DED 72); Place below, down (Kodagu, DED 72); Bottom, base (Tulu, DED 72). Cognates are found in 11 Dravidian languages.

The Sinhala word Wara basically stands for limits in space as well as time.

Surroundings as well as time in general are mong the shades of meaning found for the word Wara in Clough's Sinhala dictionary.

A related word Maa-wara in Sinhala means horizontal sticks in a fence.

In the context of Sinhala place names, Wara is found used in the following shades of meaning: Boundary, limits, precincts, surroundings, enclosure, area and zone.

Wara in its time and space demarcation meanings corresponds to Tamil/ Dravidian Varai, Varaippu and Varampu meaning boundary, limit, extent, place and time (DED 5261). For instance, a question Ethu Varai (to what extent) in Tamil could be asked and answered both in the senses of space and time.

Varu in Malayalam and Maldivian, Vara in Telugu, and Vari, Vare and Bare in Kannada are some other close cognates having the same shades of meaning (see table). Note the meaning compass in Kannada corresponding to surroundings in Sinhala.

All the above said cognates also correspond to Vari and Varai meaning a line in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 5263) and Wari in Sinhala meaning the same.

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Varaippu meaning a place recognized by a surrounding natural boundary:

“Kal aka varaippil kaan kezhu chi'ru kudi” (Natti'nai 122: 3)

“கல் அக வரைப்பில் கான் கெழு சிறு குடி” (நற்றிணை 122: 3)

The little jungle hamlet in a place (Varaippu) bound by surrounding hills


Varaippu meaning place:

“Chelvath thanthai idanudai varaippin” (Natti'nai 324: 6)

“செல்வத் தந்தை இடனுடை வரைப்பின்” (நற்றிணை 324: 6)

In the spacious place of the rich father


Varaippu meaning limit in space:

“Kadi mathil varaippin oo'noor” (Aka:naanoo'ru 227: 18)

“கடி மதில் வரைப்பின் ஊணூர்” (அகநானூறு 227: 18)

The Oo'noor village within the guarded walls


Varai meaning time in general:

“Thu'nangkai naa'lum vanthana av varai” (Ku'runthokai 364: 6)

“துணங்கை நாளும் வந்தன அவ் வரை” (குறுந்தொகை 364: 6)

The day for the Thu'nagkai dance (in which men and women embrace and dance) also came by that time


Varai meaning limit in time:

“Imaippu varai amaiyaa nam vayin” (Ku'runthokai 218: 6)

“இமைப்பு வரை அமையா நம் வயின்” (குறுந்தொகை 218: 6)

To us, who can't bear with (separation) even to the extent of a blinking time

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Udu-wara and Yata-wara are places in the Milleniya division of Kalutara district.

A place by the name Udu-wara is also found in the Hali-Ela division of Badulla district, while there is another Yata-wara in the Patadumbara division of Kandy district

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Some related place names:

Uduha-wara: The high precincts; Uva paranagama division, Badulla district

Udu-wara-goda: The bank/ hill/ village of the upper surroundings; Hikkaduwa division, Galle district

Daman-wara: The grassland surroundings or the slash and burn field enclosure/ surroundings; Badulla division, Badulla district

Kehel-warawa: The banana cultivation enclosure or the surroundings of banana cultivation; Nuwara Eliya district

Happa-wara: The surroundings for pleasure or enjoyment; or the surroundings of Hapu trees; Hanguranketha division, Nuwara Eliya district. Sappa: Pleasure, enjoyment (Sinhala)

Lena-wara: The surroundings of the cave; Milleniya division, Kalutara district

Mahal-warawa: The surroundings or precincts of the mansion; Kesbewa division, Colombo district. Mahal. Mahala: = Maligawa: palace, mansion (Sinhala)

Maa-wara-mandiya: The place or spot of the Maa-wara type of enclosure (an enclosure having horizontal bars); or the place of the big enclosure; Biyagama division, Gampaha district. Kiri-maawara: A plant, Holarrhena mitis (Sinhala); Ma’ndiya: place, spot, locality (Sinhala, Clough); Ma’ndi: Prades’aya, pætta (Sinhala, Sorata); Ma’ndala: circle, district (Sanskrit, CDIAL 9742, Dravidian origin suggested, from Mudangku, Mudalai: DED 4919)

Maa-warala: The (place of the) Maa-wara type of enclosure; or the big enclosure; Pasgoda division, Matara district

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The usage of Varu, Vari, Varan and Varamu in the island names of Maldives (An Etymological Dictionary of Maldivian Island Names):

Madi-varu: The sector of ray-fish; Male, Faadhippolhu and Ari North Atolls

Hinna-varu: The sector (island) of plots leased out for cultivation (slash and burn cultivation)

Maduv-vari: The muddy sector; Mulakku Atoll

No'li-varan-faru: The reef in the sector of the entrance or passage into the Atoll; Thiladhunmathi South Atoll

No'li-varamu: The sector of the passage or entrance into the Atoll; Thiladhunmathi South Atoll

First published: Wednesday, 04 September 2013, 06:51