Know the Etymology: 293
Place Name of the Day: Friday, 27 September 2013

Pussælla, Pussællaawa

புஸ்ஸெ[æ]ல்ல, புஸ்ஸெ[æ]ல்லாவ
Pussælla, Pussællāva

Pus+sæla
Pus+sællaava

The vacant hill

Pussa

that which is empty, vacant, hollow, unproductive, barren, blighted (Sinhala); Pus: (adjective) blank, empty, barren, vacant (Sinhala); also (noun) mould, fungus forming on things in a damp placed, mildew (Sinhala); Puhu: hollow, applied to fruits without kernel (Sinhala); 1. Phucca, Bucca, Bhucca, bukka: defective (Sanskrit, CDIAL 9084); Po > Poy: to be hollowed, hole, hollow; Pokku: hollow, defect, fault, blemish (Tamil, DED 4452); Pochcham, Pochchu: falsehood, lie, fault, defect (Tamil, DED 4459); Pukai: smoke, mist, vapour, steam (Tamil, DED 4240); 2. Poognchu, Poogncha’lam, Poogncha’nam: mould, mildew, cobweb, (Tamil, DED 4357); Boosu, Boosi: mould, mildew (Kannda, DED 4357); Poognchai: barrenness, unfruitfulness (Tamil, MTL); Poognchai-nilam: barren, uncultivated ground (Tamil MTL)

Sel

rock, stone, mountain (Sinhala); Sela: hill, mountain (Sinhala); Hela: Hillock, declivity (Sinhala); Seala: rocky, rock, crystal (Pali, CDIAL 12616); collection of stones (Prakrit CDIAL 12616); Sella: collection of stones (Prakrit, CDIAL 12616); Chilampu: Hill, side of hill (Tamil, Changkam Diction); S’aila: Made of stone, rocky, rock, hill (Sanskrit, CDIAL 12616). See column on Hela-gama.

Pussælla in Sinhala seems to be a term denoting a vacant or barren hill. As place names, Pussælla and Pussællaawa are found only in the hill country of the island.

The term could be split into two words, Pus and Sel or Sela.

Pus as adjective in Sinhala means, blank, empty, barren or vacant. Sel means rock or hill.

Pussa in Sinhala is a word related to Pus, meaning anything that is empty, vacant hollow, unproductive, barren or blighted. Puhu, meaning hollow, is also a related word.

A Comparative Dictionary of Indo-Aryan Languages (CDIAL 9084) relates the Sinhala words to Phucca, Bucca, Bhucca and Bukka, meaning anything defective.

A Dravidian Etymological Dictionary (DED 4452 and 4459) lists the following words as Dravidian: Poy and Pokku from the root Po, meaning hollow, defect, fault, blemish etc., and Pochcham and Pochchu, meaning falsehood, lie, fault, defect etc.

The word Pus has two sets of meanings in Sinhala. They may be related to each other. Apart from meaning blank, vacant, empty, barren etc. as an adjective, Pus as a noun also means mildew, fungus or mould on anything.

In the latter shade of meanings Pus is related to Poognchai in Tamil, Boosu/ Boosi in Kannada and cognates in other Dravidian languages (DED 4357).

Poognchai in Tamil also means barrenness, unfruitfulness, barren, and an uncultivated ground (MTL).

Sel and Sela in Sinhala, meaning rock or a hill are cognates of Sela in Pali/ Prakrit, Sella in Prakrit and S’aila in Sanskrit. The words are listed as Indo-Aryan (CDIAL 12616). However, a related cognate Chilampu, meaning a hill or hillside could be found in early Tamil literature too (Ku’runthokai, 22: 2-3).

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Pussælla as a toponym could be noticed in the following places: Ambanganga Korale division, Matale district; Rideegama division, Kurunegala district; Kuruvita division, Ratnapura district; Kegalle division, Kegalle district

Pussellawa comes as a place name in Udapalatha division, Kandy district; Soranathota division, Badulla district; Badalkumbura division, Moneragala district.

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Some related place names:

Pus-sel:

Pussællaawa-gama: The village of the vacant hill; Udapalatha division, Kandy district

Uda-pussællaawa: The vacant hill of the upper range; or the upper part of the vacant hill; Walapane division, Nuwara Eliya District

Pussæli-kanda: The vacant rocky hill; Rideegama division, Kurunegala district

Pussællaa-kanda: The vacant rocky hill; Soranathota division, Badulla district

Pusssea-æ’la: The vacant or empty canal: Udadumbara division, Kandy district

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Sel/ Sela:

Sella-kanda: The rocky hill; Katana division, Gampaha district

Sælawa: The hill or the rocks; Aranayake division, Kegalle district

Sæla-gama: The hill village; Yatawatta division, Matale district

Punchi-se’luwaa-kanda: The small rocky hill; Rattota division, Matale district

Maha-silawa-kanda: The big rocky hill; Kirinda, Hambantota district (One Inch Sheet)

Sellipi-gama: The hilly village; Ambagamuwa division, Nuwara Eliya district

Selesthi-maduwa: The rocky tank; Thirapane division, Anuradhapura district

Sælasum-gama: The hill village; Dimbulagala division, Polonnaruwa district

Sella-kataragama: Also Chellak-kathirkaamam: The Katirkaamam of God Murukan; or the rocky part of Kathirkaamam; Kataragama division, Moneragala district. Chelvan: God Murukan (Tamil, from the meaning lord, handsome person, wealthy person etc, DED 2786)

Rosælla: Probably, Roossa-sela: The hill of tall trees or the high hill; Ambagamuwa division, Nuwara Eliya district. Roossa: 1.Tree, Vrksha > Ruksha > Roossa (spoken Sinhala, Sorata); 2.High, “Us” (spoken Sinhala, Sorata)

Essælla: Probably, the ascending rocks/ hill; or the opposite side rocks/ hill; Minuwangoda division, Gampaha district. 1. Esa’lu: ascending, elevation (Sinhala). E:hku: To reach up, climb, mount (Tamil, DED 766); Ekku: To rise, go up (Tamil, DED 766); Ekkal, Ekkar: Rising bank, sand dunes along the bonks of a river or on the seashore (Tamil, DED 770); E:h is the root in Tamil, cognates are found in 8 Dravidian languages. 2. Esi: opposite, facing side (Sinhala, Sorata); Idiriya (Sinhala); Idir (Kannada, DED 785); Ethir (Tamil, DED 785)

Bossælla: The abundance of rocks; or the place abounding with rocks; Kegalle division, Kegalle district. Boho, Boa: (adjective) many, much, abounding, excessive, various (Sinhala); Veku: many, much, abundant (Tamil); Bahu: much, many, great (Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, CDIAL 9187).

Parussælla: The hill having abandoned paddy fields; or The rough rocks; Yatiyanthota division, Kegalle district. Parus: 1. Parussa: “Tana ko’la mul sahita nisaru kumbura” (spoken Sinhala, Sorata); vacant or unproductive paddy field grown with grass etc.; 2. Boraludamunu: a plant; 3. Parusha: rough (Sinhala, Sorata)




Revised: Sunday, 18 October 2015, 20:03

First published: Friday, 27 September 2013, 19:54