Know the Etymology: 322
Place Name of the Day: Friday, 07 February 2014

Iluk-pelessa

இளுக் ப[æ]ல[æ]ஸ்ஸ
Iḷuk Pælæssa

I'luk+pælæssa

The open parkland or the jungle cum grassland of I'luk reed

Pælæssa

A forest eco system (Sinhala, Madduma Bandara 2009); open park country, Pelessa grassland (Sinhala, National Wetland Directory of Sri Lanka); 1. Pæl+læssa: 1a. Pæla: (singular), Pæl (plural): Plant, shrub (Sinhala); Pælaya: Plant, shrub, plant in general (Sinhala); Pul: Grass in general, grass family plants and trees (Tamil, DED 4300); Pallava: Sprout, twig, blossom (Sanskrit, CDIAL 7969); Sprout, shoot, extremity of a branch bearing new leaves, branch, expansion, wood (Sinhala); Pacha, Pai: Root words for green, greenness, freshness etc (Tamil and Dravidian languages, DED 3821); Payir: Growing grain, herbage, tender sprout (Tamil, DED 3821); Paa, Para: Root word for spread, expansion etc. (Tamil, DED 3949); 1b. Læssa, Ræssa: Multitude, company, collection, thicket, bushy place, jungle (Sinhala, place names); from Ræs. Ræsa: Mass, crowd, multitude, company, collection (Sinhala); Læhæba: Thicket, bushy place, jungle (Sinhala); Raasi: Heap, a measure of quantity (Sanskrit, CDIAL 10720); See column on Uguræssa; 2. Palaa'sa: Leaf, foliage (Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit CDIAL 7960); Palaa: Greens, vegetables, herbs in general, (Sinhala).

I'luk

Also I'luk-ta'na: A kind of reed, Imperata arundinacea (Sinhala); 1.Ee'l: stalk of coconut leaf, mid rib of any palm leaf (Malayalam, DED 544); Eer, Eerkku, Eerkkil: rib of palm leaf (Tamil, DED 544); Ila-pata: Small broom made of the mid ribs of the coconut leaf (Sinhala); 2. I'luk: Forest, congregation, multitude (Sinhala); Mi'lai, I'lai: Wood, thicket, copse, bush, fenced enclosure, forest serving as a defence, guard, watch (Tamil, DED 4873);

The word Pelessa (Pælæssa) in Sinhala place names means “a forest eco system,” identifies, Peredeniya University Geography Professor C.M. Madduma Bandara (SANSAI 2009, 4: pp. 1-23).

The National Wetland Directory of Sri Lanka equates Pelessa (Pælæssa) with grassland or open park country (open grassland with tree clumps).

The contexts of the place names with the component Pælæssa, listed below, suggest that Pælæssa is both a grassland as well as a kind of jungle, mostly found with bushes, shrubs, creepers, small trees etc., but sometimes found with big trees also.

The etymology of Pælæssa could be explained in two ways: by taking it as one word or by splitting it into two, Pæl and Læssa.

Pæl/ Pæla is a general term for plant in Sinhala. It especially means a small plant or shrub. Læssa, related to Læhæba, Ræssa and Ræsa in Sinhala, mean a multitude, collection, thicket, bushy place or jungle (see box). Pælæssa therefore could literally mean a place where plants are found in multitude.

If taken as one word, Pælæssa may be related to Palaa'sa, which means leaf or foliage in Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit (CDIAL 7990). In this relationship of the words, Pælæssa may mean verdancy (greenness) or a verdant (green) place.

See box on the etymological parallels between Indo-Aryan and Dravidian in words related to green vegetation. Also see the column on Uguræssa-pitiya/ Kiralæssa for etymological discussions on Læssa.

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I'luk or I'luk-ta'na in Sinhala is a kind of reed, botanically identified by the name, Imperata arundinacea. This is one of the species known by the name Naa'nal in Tamil (DED 2909). Lalong grass is the English name.

The Sinhala name I'luk for the reed seems to have come from the palm-leaf-rib-like attribute of the grass.

Ila as in Ila-pata (broom of palm leaf ribs) in Sinhala, Ee'l in Malayalam and Eer/ Eerkku in Tamil, mean the mid rib of palm leaf and they are words of Dravidian etymology (DED 544).

Another meaning for the Sinhala word I'luk is forest, congregation or multitude. In these senses of meaning, the word is a cognate of I'lai or Mi'lai, which means a wood, thicket, bush etc., in Tamil/ Dravidian (DED 4873).

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Iluk-pelessa (I'luk-pælæssa) is a place in Walapane division of Nuwara Eliya district. There is another place by the same name in Ella division of Badulla district.

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Some related place names:


Pælæssa:

Moona-mal-pelessa: The jungle cum grassland of Moonamal (Mimosops elengi) trees; Udadumbara division, Kandy district

Amba-gaha-pelessa: The jungle cum grassland of mango trees; Minipe division, Kandy district

Keena-pelesa: The jungle cum grassland of Keena trees; Minipe division, Kandy district. Keena: Calophyllum tomentosa and Calophyllum walkeri. There are about seven or eight other species of the tree in the island (Sinhala, Clough). Calophyllum tomentosa, found in the Western Ghats too is called Kaaddup-punnai in Tamil.

Angunuwel-Pelessa: The jungle cum grassland of Angu'na plants; Ankunukolapelessa division, Hambantota district; Dambulla division, Matale district, Anku'na, Anku'na-wæla: a creeping plant or twining shrub of the Asclepiadaceae (milkweed) family or Asclepiadoideae subfamily, of which there are several species in the island (Sinhala). Angu'nu (adjective), Anganaa (noun): woman (Sinhala)

Uduram-pelessa: Probably the jungle cum grassland of straight-growing or high-growing Rambuk cane; Pallepola division, Matale district

Pelessa: The jungle cum grassland; Habaraduwa division, Galle district

Maha-pelessa: The big jungle cum grassland; Sooriyawewa division, Hambantota district

Demata-mal-pelessa: The jungle cum grassland of Demata-flower trees; Uhana district, Ampaa'rai district

Demata-gaha-pelessa: The jungle cum grassland of Demata trees; Kurunegala division, Kurunegala district

Hewen-pelessa: The shady jungle cum grassland; Nikaweratiya division, Kurunegala district

Kalatuwa-pelessa: The jungle cum grassland of Kalati (Polyalthea suberosa) trees Kurunegala division, Kurunegala district

Mee-gaha-pelessa: The jungle cum grassland of Mee trees; Udubaddawa division, Kurunegala district

Dam-pelessa: The jungle cum grassland of Dan trees; Narammala division, Kurunegala district

Dam-pelessa-gama: The village of the jungle cum grassland of Dan trees; Ipalogama division, Anuradhapura district

Weli-pelessa: The sandy jungle cum grassland; Arachikattuwa division, Puththa'lam district

Muwan-pelessa: The jungle cum grassland of deer; Hingurakgoda division, Polonnaruwa district

Divula-pelessa: The jungle cum grassland of wood apple trees; Mahiyanganaya division, Badulla district

Bo-gaha-pelessa: The jungle cum grassland of Bo trees; Badalkumbura division, Moneragala district

Kaha-kurullan-pelessa: The jungle cum grassland of Kaha-kurullaa birds; Thanamalvila division, Moneragala district. Kaha-kurullaa: Black-headed-oriole, Orioles melanocephalus; or Black-headed-bulbul, Rubigula melanictera; Kaha: turmeric, saffron, yellow colour; Kurullaa: the general name for bird (Sinhala); Kuruvi, Kurii: small bird (Tamil, DED 1793)

Nindagam-pelessa: The jungle cum grassland of the endowment village; Embilipitiya division, Ratnapura district

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I'luk:


Iluk-ovita: The lowland, at the boundary between wetland and highland, found with I'luk reed; Hanwella division, Colombo district

Iluk-patha: The side of I'luk reeds; Mirigama division, Gampaha district; Palindunuwara division, Kalutara district

Iluk-watta: The garden in the area of I'luk reed; Kalutara division, Kalutara district; Yatinuwara division, Kandy district

Iluk-kumbura: The paddy fields in the land of I'luk reed; Laggala-Pallegama division, Matale district: Medagama division, Moneragala district; Weligepola division, Ratnapura district

Iluk-pitiya: The high ground or plain found with I'luk reed; Kotapola division, Matara district

Iluke-wela: The paddy fields in the land of I'luk reed; Maathagama division, Kurunegala district

Iluk-wela: The paddy fields in the land of I'luk reed; Uva Paranagama division, Badulla district

Iluk-badaya-gama: The village of the I'luk field; or the village of the garden in the I'luk reed land; Galenbindunuwewa division, Anuradhapura district

Iluk-thenna: The high ground plain found with I'luk reed; Badulla division, Badulla district

Iluk-landa: The low jungle in the high ground with I'luk reed; Madulla division, Moneragala district

Iluk-hena: The slash and burn field of I'luk reed; Kuliyapitiya division, Kurunegala district

Iluppella: I'luk-pælla: The (place of) I'luk vegetation; Akuressa division, Matara district

Mahailuppallama: Mahaa-iluk-pallama: The big shallow land of I'luk reed; Ipalogama division, Anuradhapura district

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I'lukku (Batticaloe Tamil):

I'lukkuch-cheanai: The slash and burn field of I'luk reed; Eragama division, Ampaa'rai district

I'lukka'lai: I'lukku-a'lai: The alkaline land of I'luk reed; Koara'laippattu division, Batticaloa district

First published: Friday, 07 February 2014, 09:13