Know the Etymology: 318
Place Name of the Day: Friday, 31 January 2014

Adukkup-paar, Hathadukkuwa

அடுக்குப்பார்
ஹ[த்]தடு₃க்குவ
Aṭukkuppār
Hataḍukkuva

Adukku+paar
Hath+adukkuwa

The tiers of rocky strata

The seven tiers or the seven heaps (hills)

Adukku	(verb) To pile upon one on top of another, heap up in order; (noun) Pile, series, row, tier (Tamil, DED 80); Adukkam: Pile tier, range of mountains, mountain slope (Tamil, DED 80); Adukkal: Series, mountain (Tamil, DED 80); Cognates in Tamil, Malayalam, Kota, Toda, Kannada, Kodagu, Telugu and Kurux (DED 80); from the root Adu: To be next, to join (Tamil, DED 79); Adukkuwa: (singular), Addukku (plural): Pile, heap of things placed one upon another, assortment of provisions ready dressed (Sinhala); Adukkara’nawaa, Adukkukara’nawaa: To pack up, to pile up, to heap together (Sinhala).
Paar	Rock, rocky stratum, shelf of rock (Tamil, DED 4121); Shoal in sea (Tamil, usage of coastal folk); Paa’rai: Rock, crag, stratum, hillock (Tamil, DED 4121); Cognates in Malayalam, Kodagu, Tulu, Koraga, Parji and Gondi (DED 4121); Paraya: Rock, range (Sinhala); Paru: Reef, shoal (Old Dhivehi/ Maldivian); Faru: Reef (Dhivehi/ Maldivian).
Hata	Also Sata: Number seven (Sinhala); Saptaka: Consisting of seven; Sapta: (adjective) Seven (Sanskrit, CDIAL 13140).

Adukku in Tamil and Adukkuwa/ Adukku in Sinhala, mean a pile, arrangement one upon the other, heap, tiers, layers, or series.

In Tamil, the derivatives of Adukku, such as Adukkam and Adukkal also mean a mountain or range of hills.

Adukku is listed as a word of Dravidian etymology (DED 80)

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Paar means a rock, rock stratum or shelf of rock in Tamil. The word is related to another Tamil word Paa’rai, meaning a rock, crag, stratum or hillock. Paraya is the cognate in Sinhala.

Paar and Paa’rai are also listed as words of Dravidian etymology (DED 4121).

The place name Adukkup-paar literally means the tiers of rock strata.

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Hata/ Sata in Sinhala, meaning number seven, is a cognate of Sapta in Sanskrit, and is of Indo-Aryan etymology (S > H change).

Hathadukkuwa could mean seven tiers as well as seven heaps (hills).

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Addukkup-paar is in Trincomalee Town and Gravets division of Trincomalee district.

Hathadukkuwa is a place in Galewela division of Matale district.

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Some related place names:

Adukkane: Probably, Adukku+kane: The bluff of (rock) tiers; Katupotha division, Kurunegala district

First published: Friday, 31 January 2014, 22:44